


Monsters and Men

by zero4life



Category: Doom (2005)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Dark Past, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Genetic Engineering, Genetic Modification, Genetically Engineered Beings, Government Experimentation, Human Experimentation, Infected Characters, M/M, Mission Fic, Mission Related, Missions Gone Wrong, Monsters, Mutual Pining, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Orphans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Rescue Missions, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Soldiers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-24 02:05:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13801071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zero4life/pseuds/zero4life
Summary: John isn't looking forward to go through the Ark again to have a chance to run in with his ten year estranged sister. But he has trouble staying behind when his whole team, including Wolf is going.An unspoken bond has grown between them since Wolf joined the RRTS. And John may or may not want to admit to himself that he likes the guy more then he should.Wolf is an excellent sniper and very quick on his feet. But he has his own demons to face on the other side of the Ark.. Because there is more to it then monsters and men and a rogue 24th chromosome.





	1. Mission call

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I know i could have somethings wrong here and there. like the Gun descriptions, but i'm not about to go and do hours of research for this fun fanfic i wanted to make. So i hope you understand that. I'm making this up as i go. Also i've never watched or played any of the Doom games. I've only seen the movie so i apologize if there are fans out there who are in any way offended or disappointed by what i wrote. This is based on the movie, not the games. Please keep that in mind. Thank you and enjoy.

Leave didn't come often, but after 6 months on duty, they had earned it. R.R.T.S. barracks were still occupied with some of the finest soldiers the military had to offer. Most of them seasoned fighters with each their unique skill set. They all knew each other for at least several years and some were more relieved then others to get some off time. Transport was on the way, but late. All they could do was wait.

Each of the men were killing time in their own way. Dean Portman was complaining about the transport delay. Spewing filthy details on what he would do with his off time. Gregory Schofield was playing video games. Mark Dantalian was cleaning his little corner of the room. Eric Fantom sat reading in his bible commenting on Portman's dirty comments. While Katsuhiko and Roark Gannon played baseball with fruits. Mostly aiming them at Gregory playing his video game. At the end of the barrack, John sat doing maintenance on his guns. While at his right, Aiden sat on his own bed with a sketchpad. Drawing some images that no one ever really got to see. 

John glanced sideways to him. Aiden seemed emerged in his drawing. He didn't notice at first. John paused while cleaning his gun. Gazing at the other soldier in thought. Aiden Taylor had joined a little later then most guys, but still way before the Kid. Who still hadn't done his first mission on the team. Aiden had been a recommendation from the military commander rather then a recruitment. But the man had been right when he had described the guy and his skill set. Aiden Taylor was gifted. Quiet in close combat, quick on his feet, fast to strike and lethally accurate. Even more so on the long range. Where he excelled as an outstanding marksman. The best Sniper the Military had to offer. Never missed a single shot. Also accurate up to a few millimeters from his targets. 

John knew he was staring, not to mention fanboying in his head over what Aiden could do. He caught himself staring but not in time for him to turn his head away. Aiden looked up. Striking blue eyes met his hazel ones and Aiden cracked a smile. Uneven, one mouth corner higher then the other and a dimple only in the right cheek. But that was the smile that John liked most. He tossed a smirk back at the guy. Just to make it less suspicious that he had been staring. 

Aiden had been sitting there drawing, secretly stealing glances from the subject he was trying to get on paper. John Grimm. A seasoned Marine all the way through. The guy was very good at hand to hand combat and boxing. Sparring with him was always interesting. It was always a surprise who would win in the end. They were equally matched only because their skills varied. John was strong and his moves were straight to the point, while Aiden was quicker and more evasive. More often then not they would call it a draw and shake hands on it rather then push till someone won. Although this was only because Aiden never used his full strength in combat. If he did, he'd break his opponent. And exposing that side of him was a risk he was not willing to take. Holding back seemed the only option for now.

When John smirked back and nodded to him, Aiden knew he was silently asking what he was drawing. Often words went unspoken between them while their gestures and eyes held entire conversations off the grid. Undetected by the other guys on the team. They were also the only ones addressing each other with their first names when talking to one another instead of the usual code names used over com and in conversations with the other soldiers. Aiden quickly flipped the page to one where he was drawing mandalas and turned it around for John to look at. 

* * *

John frowned at him and then glared accusingly with half a smirk, but he nodded impressed at Aiden's drawing skills. Still he got the hint that Aiden flipped the pages on purpose. Not wanting to show him the other page he was working on earlier. He hinted with his head again, trying to get Aiden to show him that other page. But Aiden just smirked and shook his head, placing the sketchpad on his lap again. His blonde hair was a bit longer then John's. It was messy from it being ruffled by his own hand and a pencil stuck out from behind his ear. In John's opinion, it was one of his several good authentic looks. In this type of setting he looked more relaxed, but still in a way that John sometimes just wanted to reach out and brush the stray golden locks out of Aiden's face and tuck it behind the Pencil he held on his ear. To let his fingers slide along that jaw and-

John shook his head and quickly returned to cleaning his weapon. These inappropriate thoughts came to him more often lately. First, these were mere moments. And he hadn't thought of them that much. But as Aiden started to familiarize himself with the team and become a part of it, as they grew closer and did missions together, bled and battled together, These moments started to become longer. The span of time fantasizing about his team mate took john by surprise. Sometimes he lost whole hours to a certain train of thought before he could stop it. And over time, day blended into night, and those fantasies entered his dreams as well.

He never told Aiden of course. What if the guy would never look at him the same way again? What if their bond and their understanding and trust broke because of it? What if Aiden no longer saw him as a brother in arms? John couldn't bare it. He lost his parents. His sister had gone a different path. These guys... Aiden... Was all he had. He couldn't lose that bond. He couldn't lose  _Him._  That's how after a period of a few months, John decided that wherever Aiden was going, he was going too. Even though it was more then ridiculous that whenever one of them got hurt it was always John. But he couldn't take the risk, knowing that if he didn't go, it would have been Aiden getting hurt instead.

He wasn't sure if anyone noticed. Aiden didn't. And if he did he never commented on it. The only one who had noticed was Sarge. His commanding officer Asher Mahonin had noticed he was attached to Aiden and that they were practically inseparable. John brushed it off as a 'He's like a brother to me' and 'We Orphans have to stick together' type of situation with them both being Orphans from a young age and all that. Sarge bought it so far, but John wasn't sure how long he could hold that up as an excuse.

He knew he had fallen for Aiden. Deeply too. But it wasn't easy to admit to anyone especially yourself when, A: he was a fellow soldier in the same team. They showered together and everything, that would become awkward as hell once the secret got out. He already had to deal with inappropriate hard-on's and silent quick pleasure moments whenever he took himself in hand to release the pressure, which he felt guilt for even before he reached his peak. That probably qualified as problem B. So problem C was: John had never been in love with a guy. His fantasies were limited by the sheer lack of knowledge on what to do with that kind of relationship. Thank whatever higher powers that be that no one else caught on to it.

Lately though, John had gotten kind of worried. He knew he didn't have an awfully good chance even if he did decide to take the risk and confess his feelings to Aiden. But that chance seemed to have gotten smaller and smaller with the rise of a new change. Aiden had a picture of a girl he always held close. Plastered on the top of his sketchpad. John regularly tried to get a name to go with that face, but Aiden always referred to her as 'Specter'. Some sort of code name. Claiming they were buddies in his previous special ops team. He didn't talk about it much, but he said he didn't regret trading special ops for the RRTS. 

However sometimes John caught Aiden gazing into the distance, smiling while his finger ran over the photo. Lately Portman asked him teasingly if he had a lady friend and Aiden got defensive. His exact words being: "None of your Goddamn business Portman, but say one dirty word about Specter and i'll put a fucking bullet between your legs." There was no room left for sarcasm there. His eyes had said he meant it and Portman got the hint. Whenever he mentioned something remotely related to Specter, or something on that involved getting on Aiden's case, he remained respectful in contrast of his usual dirty remarks. Even though that hardly seemed possible for a guy like him. But if he even hinted toward something dirty involving the girl in the photo, Aiden shot murderous glances at him and Portman felt threatened enough to back off.

Of course it hurt to think that Aiden was straight and might have a girlfriend out there. But that was his right. John couldn't tell him he shouldn't. Not without telling him why. And that would involve a high risk confession that could blow everything apart that they build between them. In seconds. John never stood for being called a coward. But there were certain risks he wasn't willing to take. He didn't want to mess up his friendship on the small off chance that he and Aiden could be more. So he kept it a secret. Safely hidden away inside.

* * *

Aiden sighed as he turned the page back on the drawing he was previously working on. He'd love to show John exactly what he was drawing. But he just couldn't. His sketchpad was full of these dangerous drawings. In between the mandalas and the random patterns were only sketches of John. And occasionally a wolf. Aiden couldn't help himself but he kept on drawing more. Perhaps beautiful wasn't the best word to describe the Marine so clearly brought to life on paper. But he was handsome. His features showed character and made him attractive. His jawline wasn't too sharp but seemed to compliment the form of his head just right. His eyes laid deep in his head, adding some mystery to the whole look of his face. His hazel eyes often said more then you'd expect seeing a man like that. His short hair gave nothing away of his personality. It looked like a soldier's haircut and that being said it was dark brown often darkened by dirt or grease or smudges of whatever fell into it on the battle field. 

They did however surrender the finest drops when wet. Either water or sweat, John's hair may not have been a top feature on it's own, but Aiden knew what happened once those short strands got wet. When drop after drop rolled down John's temple or his neck and teasingly disappeared under the line of his clothes where Aiden wished he could follow. The jealousy raged in him whenever those water drops sweetly caressed the white skin, marked by several scars, a marine tattoo and countless stories of servitude. 

Time and again Aiden was tempted but had to hold himself back from reaching out. Time and again he wanted to claim all those features he admired for himself. Marking it as his own territory. It was frightening how much Aiden really wanted to let go and give in. But he couldn't. John was a man of mysteries. And though Aiden had reached in deeper under his skin then anyone else, he couldn't figure out perhaps the most crucial of things about his new found best friend. Aiden was sure that John wasn't interested in anyone. Or that he had a girl waiting for him somewhere which might have been this on/off thing. Because sometimes he looked tortured, and sometimes he looked blissful. And Aiden could never figure out why. He tried asking once if there was someone special. John just replied with. "Something like that." Which in Aiden's opinion seemed a yes. But John never talked about this certain someone.

At first he got the scare of his life when John opened up to him about someone named Samantha. But after a few conversations, Aiden was pleased to figure out that she was John's sister. Twin in fact. The fall out between them had been unfortunate. But even should that change in the future, to Aiden she was not the threat he had been worried about. That didn't mean however that there wasn't another girl out there who captured John's interest. Aiden tried time and again to gently probe for some answers and get John to tell him more about this special someone, but each time Aiden seemed to hit a wall John just wouldn't let him pass. 

Aiden closed his sketchpad with a sigh. He always carried it around. Small enough to fit in his vest, he guarded it with his life. Lest one of the others found it and found some detailed drawings of John sleeping or in the shower. They would draw their conclusions quicker then they handled their guns. And Aiden didn't want that to be the way John found out about him seeing John as more then a brother in arms and being in love with him, wanting him in every way like a possessive animal wanting to claim a mate. What would he say anyway? At the very worst John would never look at him again.

And what if he didn't mind it? What if they hit it off against all odds and Aiden's dark past came to light? Then what? It would change everything and their relationship would still go haywire. No one could possibly react calmly to the fact that their lover wasn't exactly... human. Things were better left unsaid until the whole truth was out. But at this rate, with what they had between them, Aiden preferred to leave it buried. Any risk of exposure he fought until he was certain it would do no harm to their friendship. Until then it was better if John had no clue about him being unlike the others.

* * *

It seemed however those risks and tension on their friendship kept coming in the form of their past catching up to them. John and Aiden had one thing in common: A past with the Ark. And it came to haunt them at every turn. Until finally the dreaded day came on which they would be confronted with it. Which was today. Aiden saw it in the look on Sarge's face as he came down and announced leave was cancelled. Somehow his tone of voice, that look and the announcement all at once already told Aiden exactly where they were going. Olduvai. A piece of Mars beyond the Ark. 

"Listen up men! Leave is cancelled."

Complaints rose up from every corner except the very back where John and Aiden sat quietly. Especially Schofield seemed to have some vocal throwbacks at the announcement. A very clear F-bomb was dropped while he put his tags reluctantly back on his neck. Dogtags meant service. Aiden was actually the only one who wore them on his spare time as well. Rarely took them off even if he was on leave. 

"You got a problem with that Duke?"

Sarge replied with authority in his voice. Immediately Duke back paddled about his previous comment to try and suppress his disappointment.

"Me Sarge? Hell no. I love my job."

Understatement. Nearly all of the men in this unit were trigger happy on any mission where they were allowed to be. No hesitation or second thoughts spared. Just barging in guns blazing. That seemed to be their favorite way to work. Aiden preferred the stealth missions. The puzzles of strategy and the quiet back road trips. Might also have something to do with his particular skill set.

"Got us a game."

Sarge continued. Addressing Mark Danatalian directly to hand him his first mission as a member of the team.

"Hey Kid... Son you are now in the Rapid Response Tactical Squad."

The kid stood up straight and looked proud to be on the team. Damn rookie. Aiden shook his head. He hadn't been that enthusiastic in this team or previous special ops. But then again he had different ideals and dreams. The kid had stated he had dreamed of joining this task force and here he stood a proud member. It was his right to be proud of himself. Though he technically hadn't run a mission yet. Sarge nodded pleased about the boy's reaction. 

"Fall in."

He ordered. One by one the men disappeared up the stairs. Going to the locker room to gear up and get ready. Aiden and John were left trailing behind the rest. Aiden sighed and threw off the blanket he was under. Apart from his vest and other arms and gear, he was already wearing his combat clothing. The cargo pants and black vest at the ready as if he had been expecting this. And in a way, he had. Sarge snorted while Aiden put his sketchpad in a hidden chest pocket on his shirt. Sewed it in himself so he could always carry his valuables with him. And it served him well so far.

"Did you sleep in that or what?"

Sarge mumbled as Aiden approached him. 

"I was gonna change last minute if we actually had some time off. Not gonna be the first time it's been revoked."

Aiden replied. Sarge nodded but looked at him as if he was overthinking an important detail of this mission. So Aiden tilted his head.

"You don't want me to go?"

"Actually you're the only one who's been specifically requested. Superiors dropped your code name.. twice. They want you on this mission. Got an encrypted drive with personal prioritized orders waiting for you."

Sarge replied while looking at Aiden. Who sighed.

"A mission within a mission. Great."

John joined them, cleaned rifle in his hands ready to go. He frowned. 

"Since when do they ask for specific RRTS members?"

Aiden sighed. "They don't. This has nothing to do with RRTS. But with the SOAD. My former squad."

Sarge nodded and then turned to John.

"Not this time John. We got this one."

"What? You're bullshitting me."

John responded like he couldn't believe his commander would leave him out here. Especially if Aiden was going. But Sarge shook his head. 

"No, I'm not bullshitting. We're going to Olduvai."

"Olduvai?" 

John turned his head to Aiden.

"You're going?"

Aiden sighed and nodded.

"Don't have a choice. They requested me, not because of RRTS. But because i ran Special Ops Ark Division on Olduvai. If they dropped my name specifically, this must be big."

"Nothing i can do about that Taylor. But John? Take the leave." Sarge added.

"Is that an order?"

"It's a recommendation."

With those words Sarge turned around and marched up the stairs after the others to get his gear. John looked at him and then turned his head to Aiden. He felt conflicted. On one hand he really did not want to go back to Olduvai. Not with a 100% chance run-in with his long estranged twin sister. But on the other hand he didn't want to stay behind when Aiden was going through the Ark. A mission on planet earth was one thing. A mission to Mars? They would be on different planets and John swore he would never let that happen. They never went on a mission without one another.

"What do you think? Should i take the leave?"

John asked. Aiden turned to look him in the eyes and seemed to think as he was quiet for a moment and he furrowed his brows. 

"I think... You shouldn't do anything you will regret later."

John smirked.

"That's very diplomatic."

Aiden chuckled and sighed.

"Alright then how about this: I don't want to go either. But i have to. So even if you go. You're not the only one who feels miserable and isn't looking forward to this."

It made John feel better. By a little at least. Aiden also felt conflicted. On one hand he hoped John wouldn't have to return to Olduvai. On the other hand he knew that because he was going, John would probably follow. And though it made him smile to think John was following him because they were so close, it also brought a hint of guilt in his veins for being the reason John would be confronted with his past if he went. Neither of them wanted to go to Olduvai. But it seemed like they were going anyway.

* * *

_Air craft ready to load_

A male voice came over the coms. One by one the RRTS members lined up and entered the helicopter to be flown to the location of the Ark. As they each stepped in and secured their weapons, a female AI voice registered and confirmed their presence and participation in the mission by unlocking their weapons for them. 

Roark Gannon was the first one to pick up his weapon.

_RRTS Special Ops Clearance Verified... Handle ID: Destroyer._

His specialty: the big guns. A semi-automatic mini cannon that suited a man of his posture and brute appearance. Heavy shots that brought so much backlash on the carrier that Destroyer was the only one of the team deemed qualified to carry it.

"Daddy's home" he grinned.

Takahashi took his rifle next. 

_Handle ID: Mac_

It was a shorter gun, but shot gun rounds firing from the specialized rifle. The ammunition could be compared to hail bullets. Very effective on short range. Not so much on long range. Still a lot of back kick, but not as much as Destroyer's weapon.

_Handle ID: Portman_

_Handle ID: Goat_

Both Fantom and Portman had the usual semi-automatic assault rifles. Perfect for the mid-range class. Accurate as well as fast to reload, large quantity clips and the best weapon for a variety of combat situations. The guns had only one purpose: To kill. And they rarely strayed from that objective. As their handlers were also eager to set them to work. They weren't special as rifles itself, but with the talents of their handlers, these guns could do some real damage.

_Handle ID: The kid_

Mark picked up some close range hand pistols and frowned at the synthetic voice supplying him with his code name. 

"The kid?" He asked almost as if he whined for being picked on. He knew he was the new guy around here. But he had hoped he would at least get a better nickname then 'the kid.' Unfortunately. He was out of luck. And he sighed disagreeing but accepting it begrudgingly. 

_Handle ID: Duke_

"Say my name baby"

Schofield hummed as the synthetic voice purred his handle ID code name. Welcoming him back despite his earlier disappointment for his cancelled leave. His gun was much like Mac's only with different ammunition. Less shotgun effects, more rifle effects. But the same fire power.

_RRTS Special Ops Clearance Verified... Handle ID: Sarge_

The leader of the RRTS took his own gun off the wall and prepped it. It was also one of the heavier guns. But not as heavy as Destroyer's weapon. Still it packed a punch. More so then Mac's or Duke's. Less then Destroyer's. But enough for it to qualify as a semi-automatic. 

Then Aiden Taylor stepped into the aircraft and marched to his own seat. He picked up a customized sniper rifle from the rack.

_RRTS Special Ops Ark division Clearance Verified... Handle ID: Wolf_

It used to be one of the standard sniper rifles supplied by the army, but over time, Aiden tweaked and modified it to his own skills and preferences. Modelling it to his own specialized weapon. A custom sniper rifle with special ammo and additional features. The weapon was light but could undoubtedly do serious damage on the long distance. Far-range being his specialty. He sat down while the Synthetic voice purred his code name. 

Kid turned his head.

"Ark Division? I didn't know they had that!"

Wolf shook his head.

"They don't. We disbanded five years ago. Guess it's still in the files."

"I can't believe we're going through the Ark!"

Kid replied. His enthusiasm growing with his nerves. 

"Don't worry Kid." Duke smirked. "You're gonna love it."

"Not as much as you're gonna hate it." Wolf added.

Kid looked at Wolf but he just laughed.

"Al set?!" Sarge yelled over the rotating blades of the transporter ready to take them off the ground. A hand on his stopped him from closing the door and John Grimm climbed on board last minute. Sarge frowned but then he smirked and he nodded. Clearly pleased with the decision John had made. For John this wasn't actually a choice. More like a test to get himself through. 

John walked to the front next to Wolf, Aiden looked up at him and smiled. 

"I was worried i was gonna have to do this one solo."

"Come on Wolf. When have you ever gotten rid of me that easily?" 

John replied and Aiden snorted.

"True."

John picked up his own assault rifle. A bit simpler in form then the other assault rifles. But deadly all the same. It took more in the direction of a sniper rifle like Wolf's, but it wasn't quite the sniper rifle yet.

_RRTS Special Ops Clearance Verified... Handle ID: Reaper_

Both John and Aiden smirked at each other as the Synthetic voice confirmed his participation in this mission. 

"Nervous about going through the Ark again?"

Wolf yelled over the noise of the rising aircraft. John looked at him and threw him a shit-eating grin.

"Don't you worry pup. i'll protect you."

On which Wolf poked him in the ribs with an elbow.

"Asshole"

But they both laughed and leaned back in their seats. John was relieved he made the decision to go. Aiden was relieved John decided to tag along. Even though this would be somewhat difficult to deal with for the both of them. After all... They were going to Olduvai. The one place that held and buried their past for the last 10 years John. And at least the last 5 years for Aiden. Especially Wolf was worried. Olduvai had more secrets then anyone familiar with the place wanted to admit.

* * *

The flight took a few minutes. Enough for Portman to bring out his Walkman to play a few songs. While he unwound the tangled earphone cords he smirked and addressed the rookie in front of him. 

"You know Kid? It's funny"

Kid had no idea what Portman wanted to tell him so he leaned a bit closer to be able to understand every word. Wolf already rolled his eyes knowing Portman too well to be able to miscalculate the comments he was going to make. 

"A couple of days ago i asked Sarge for a little pussy..."

The kid smirked as if he could imagine what Portman would mean by that. Unfortunately Portman was enough of a bully to mean the opposite.

"... the next day, he brought you on the team."

Portman grinned and Mark's face fell. Like the code name wasn't bad enough already. The kid bit back any snarky comments he might have thrown if he had known these guys longer. But they were his peers and he was the new guy subjected to any torture his peers deemed him worthy of going through. Wolf made a disgusted grunt. Already sick of Portman's filthy bullying. Or was it once again? Reaper popped some gum in his mouth and checked his gun while he bit back in defense of the kid.

"Don't give me an excuse Portman. No one here will miss you."

Wolf smirked. So did Portman, but in a different way. He knew Reaper was more like Wolf. They rarely said a thing they 100% didn't mean or weren't capable of. There was always a hint of underlying truth or possible real threats. Sarge broke up the banter by briefing them on their mission.

"Men, look in. This is what we got from Simcom."

He continued to declare a quarantine situation on Olduvai, where they were headed. Several heads already turned sour when the word Olduvai was dropped. Reaper, Wolf and Goat being among them. Especially the first of the three had no strong desire to go there. But it's where the mission would take them. So go he would. Even if he didn't like it. Wolf didn't show much response physically, but a side glance to him from Reaper made John know that his friend definitely wasn't looking forward to going back to Olduvai. Too much history, Aiden once claimed. John couldn't agree with him more.

Then Sarge played a video of one Dr. Carmack who issued the Quarantine situation after apparently something was roughly trying to get into his office. There was loud banging on the door and white noise in the background as if a woman was getting mauled to death. Wolf tilted his head and frowned. 

"Level 5? How the hell did they get down to level 5 breach in a research lab?"

Wolf mumbled. John didn't reply but he knew it had to be bad based on how Wolf reacted. Sarge stopped the video and continued his briefing. 

"UAC have shut down the lab, men. We need to go up there and locate the team, Eliminate the threat and secure the facility."

Danatalian was confused as to what exactly they would be facing. The only logical thing was to ask.

"What threat?"

Duke smirked and leaned forward to look passed his team mate to The Kid to reply to him.

"It goes like this; see? When it's trying to kill you. It's a threat."

It didn't make things any less tense for young Danatalian who was already sweating before he even moved a muscle. Wolf somehow felt sorry for the kid. He was young and Wolf could already tell his first mission was gonna be a rough one. Sarge rubbed The Kid on his head as he walked by. Perhaps to soothe him, or just to tease him, or maybe both. 

"Wolf. Anything you can tell us?"

Sarge commented as he made his way back to his seat. Wolf shook his head.

"I'm being restored as a S.O.A.D. handler operating under R.R.T.S. Which is bad in my experience. If the rest of my old team is deployed... might be hell. If they are not deployed, might be hell anyway. I don't know. I've seen all kinds of things on UAC's propaganda to know whatever this is, it's probably new."

Sarge nodded and turned to John.

"How long has it been?"

John sighed deeply. Almost as if he wanted to reach the very depths of his lungs.

"Ten years"

He replied. His voice sounding like that of a tortured man.

"Sure she's even still up there?"

John's reply was a bit delayed but he nodded.

"Yeah... I guess you gotta face your demons sometime."

He leaned back. Trying not to let his thoughts wonder, but thinking about Sam made him think about what happened in the past and what made them drift apart. He didn't like it. He didn't want to fight with his sister. But considering everything that happened he just couldn't see eye to eye with her anymore. Their opinions were too different now. A hand patting on his knee made him look up. Wolf sat next to him with a smile. Genuine, asymmetrical and with that familiar sparkle in his eye. Just looking at that made John feel better already.

Just a few more minutes and they would land in front of the elevator that would take them down to the Ark. Just a few more minutes away from imminent disaster.


	2. The Ark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going through the ark leaves the Team in Pinky's care. Wolf takes it upon himself to ease The Kid into his first Ark travel.

* * *

"How long has it been for you?"

John turned to Aiden who had his eyes closed, leaning against the wall of the aircraft. He opened them. His blue eyes swirling with something of a distant past. John knew that look. He also knew what it felt like thinking of something you wanted to forget.

"Five years. Right before i joined the R.R.T.S. my former squad the Special Ops Ark Division was pulled apart. Disbanded they said. Shitheads just gave us all a different job to work on. Guess they were scared of our abilities as a team. Haven't talked to any of the guys since. I know Specter stayed. Playing security for the labs on Olduvai by herself. But that's all i know."

John nodded. Feeling a familiar and nasty shiver in his gut when Specter's code name was mentioned. Again the idea that Wolf had a girl waiting for him out there didn't sit well with him at all. Even though he knew he had no right to be jealous about it. Wolf deserved happiness. No matter who would give it to him. Still that didn't take away the sting of jealousy. 

"You gonna be okay? This will be rough sledding for both of us."

Wolf continued. His concern warmed John but still he refused to give himself false hope by believe it meant more then a brotherly concern. 

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

The helicopter received some turbulence and one of the pilots announced being 90 seconds out from their destination. Sarge warned the men to get focused before they'd leave their transport.

"Look alive men. Game time."

Wolf sighed.

"fucking yay."

John snorted but remained wise enough not to react to it further. A glare from Sarge was all that was needed to keep the two quiet. 

* * *

As the aircraft touched down on a hill, Reaper and Wolf were the first to exit. Taking up a V formation with Sarge at the top who called them to a halt right in front of what first just looked like the hilltop. But then, loud stone grinding noise hit them over the sound of the transporter and the ground shook. The vibrations running through all of the men as the large service elevator rose up from the ground like a giant doomsday monument. 

The Kid's eyes widened as he looked at the stone rising from the ground. Parting in the middle to make way for a modern day elevator. It would take them right down to the Ark and the UAC facility that ran underground. Both John and Aiden looked at it as if it was a giant snake head ready to gobble them up. 

"Move in"

Sarge ordered. And all they could do was obey. They didn't hesitate. Though perhaps Aiden walked a little slower then he usually would. Trying to delay a few mere seconds before he'd step into the looming elevator. Mark gawked at the elevator before reality hit him in the realization that he was the only one not moving. Embarrassed, he quickly ran after the rest of the men. Already uncomfortable with his small error. He couldn't afford any more slip ups. Especially because he was new. Sarge noticed it, clearly displeased over the way Mark handled it.

"You hesitate, people die." 

He barked at the kid. Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Come on Sarge. Go easy. It's not like he's seen this before."

Sarge glared at Wolf.

"He needs to learn. You shouldn't defend an error like that."

Wolf tilted his head.

"I don't know.. I mean we were all rookies once."

Sarge stepped closer, into Wolf's personal space. Threatening him with the way he tried to tower over the guy. He had a stronger build yes, but he wasn't much taller then Wolf.

"Drop it Wolf."

"Yes sir."

Wolf replied. Not impressed by the threatening position of the commander. It was no disrespect, Wolf did respect the man. He just wasn't afraid of him. And considering their ranks were now officially overlapping since Wolf was reinstated as commander of the S.O.A.D. They were equals now. So their banter only seemed more challenging because neither was held back from sarcasm by the gap between their ranks. Sarge knew Wolf well enough he'd open up his mouth about everything and be a sarcastic little prick, but still kept his respect for peers and commanders in tact. He'd push boundaries without breaking them. It was a personal talent that left an opening for the most hilarious banter between team members.

Agitated, Sarge punched the button to take them down. John looked up at the ceiling as the elevator dropped. Seeing his last hope of backing out disappear as the surface moved further and further away from them. He felt a small squeeze around his wrist. Gazing down he found Wolf's hand just left his wrist. He looked at him and Wolf threw him a reassuring smile. Even though it didn't make him less anxious, it did make him feel a bit lighter. At least John wasn't alone. Aiden was right there with him. 

Wolf seemed so calm on the exterior. But John knew him well enough to know there was chaos on the inside of his mind. Aiden was always frustrated with his past. Even though he didn't tell much about his life, his emotions showed when he chose to talk about it. John understood that. He was frustrated with his own past. 

* * *

As the elevator door opened, Scientists and security guards were scrambling all over the place. It was like an ants nest. Crowded and full. Brightly lit hallways filled with people rushing about for all kinds of reasons. A man came up to them introducing himself without delay.

"Sanford Crosby, UAC Public Relations."

He stretched out a hand but Sarge didn't take it. So immediately Crosby recoiled and turned on his heel.

"Eh follow me please."

While they walked through the hallway, Reaper informed for the amount of people they had on the other side of the Ark in quarantine.

"UAC employs 85 permanent research staff on Olduvai."

Crosby responded. 

"Plus another 30 or so unemployed relatives, spouses and kids living with them."

Wolf added. Crosby turned and arched a brow. 

"You've been to Olduvai?"

"Frequently. I commanded Ark Division before i joined RRTS"

"Ah yes. I dare say we were better off with your team employed. A shame they left."

Wolf stopped in his tracks. A frown playing across his face. Clearly this was a surprise to him. Reaper could see hit in his immediate change in demeanor. 

"Left? What do you mean left?"

Crosby stopped as well. Seeming to have a loss for words momentarily. Small panic in his eyes. Reaper frowned at Wolf's confusion. So something happened he wasn't aware of?

"Well they were given other duties to perform when Ark Division was no longer active."

Crosby started. Wolf finished the story for him the way he remembered.

"Yes on Olduvai."

"Specter was the only one who stayed on Olduvai. The others had been given different assignments. They left. They... didn't tell you?"

Wolf grumbled with a low growl. Turning on his heel to resolutely walk towards the Ark.

"Nobody ever tells me anything. Probably payback."

He muttered. Crosby then welcomed them to the ark without reacting to Wolf's comment further. Probably nervous about pissing off a man armed to the teeth. Reaper however laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Annoyed but fine. But someone has some explaining to do when we get to Mars."

Reaper nodded and followed Wolf who walked into the great hall with the other men. Gathering on the platform that would hold the active part of the Ark. A bubble of what looked mostly like water or slime suspended in the air. 

**_Initiating Molecular Mapping Drive_ **

A female voice echoed through the hall over the intercom system. The starting sequence in itself didn't make a lot of noise. But that was just the start. Travel would be rough. Too rough to keep a heavy breakfast down. Wolf was glad he didn't eat before they left. Somehow just looking at their transportation hovering as core of the portal made his stomach turn and want to empty itself on the recently scrubbed floor. 

**_All Personnel prepare for Activation_ **

The only comfort was that Wolf had done this more times then all of the other soldiers combined. Ark division had operated mostly on Mars. But as commander, Wolf had been forced to travel back and forth more then any other human being that ever went through the Ark. Sometimes even just to report before he'd be send back again. It had been frustrating, but because of that frequent travelling, Wolf had substantially more chance to keep control over himself and all his impulses. Including the impulse to vomit. 

"Keep your distance from the core or you might get sucked in."

Crosby announced as he lead the group onto the circle platform waiting there for them. The core would take them to Mars. But they had to go one by one. That was the safest way to travel. They circled around the core and stood there. Waiting for their turns to get through. Mark got nervous again so he asked Goat who was beside him for some reassurance. He however got none.

"You eh.. You've done this before right?"

Goat didn't nod or look away but he replied.

"Once. Training mission."

Duke picked it up and grinned walking behind them.

"I hope you had a good dinner Kid."

The Kid frowned. But he didn't question it further. 

**_Inter-Planet Coordinate Lock Engaged.. All telemetry verified and transmissions are five by five...._ **

the voice whined through the system. Wolf patted the Kid on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Sarge took up the task of instructing Crosby on what to do once the team was through the Ark and on Olduvai. Because of the delicacy of their mission, they required a controlled environment on both sides of the Ark. Just to be sure. A level 5 quarantine wasn't placed without reason. Whatever it was that made this mission happen, it needed to stay on Olduvai, and if it got through the Ark somehow, it could not be let out to the surface. Ultimately it was a way to protect earth from anything alien. 

"Soon as we get through, i need you to shut down the surface elevator here. Make sure that we get the standard quarantine of six hours." 

**_Target Receiver Initialized..._ **

Crosby nodded. "Ready to proceed."

**_Ark Travel 15 seconds and counting..._ **

15 seconds away from hell. Reaper took a breath. He locked eyes with Wolf for a moment. The brilliant blue comforted him. Wolf nodded at him as if he wanted to say: _'see you on the other side John.'_ Reaper nodded back and slowly inched closer to the core. 

_**Five... Four.. Three.. Two.. One..** _

As John stood only an inch removed from the core and it's gel like hovering substance, it engulfed him and send him flying like a rocket, transporting him to the Ark on Olduvai with light speed. For the onlookers in the room on Earth, he was gone in the blink of an eye. Wolf turned to Kid who looked at the place Reaper stood a second ago with wide eyes that nearly popped out of his head. While others were making their way through the Core one by one, Wolf took The Kid apart.

"Listen. I've done this more times then all of these guys combined. So just do as i tell you and you'll be alright. Keep your arms close to your body, cross em over your chest if that's easier for you. Keep your legs together but stretched out, don't curl up. And don't open your eyes. That's the first thing that will disorient you and shake you up. It's gonna be rough, but let it happen. Don't struggle against the pull. You'll end up a little light headed on the other side. It's normal."

Kid nodded and Wolf gently pushed him to the core. 

"Your turn. Go on Kid. I'm right behind you."

* * *

Reaper was perhaps one of three who could hold himself together with the force of the Ark pulling them through. Ark Travel always felt like you were being tossed about and mauled by a large predatory animal. It was worse then the gravity simulator designed for astronauts. It shook you like there was no tomorrow and it felt like your stomach did a round in the laundry, circling and turning, twisting like it would tumble in the dryer. It was awful. But Reaper managed to keep his dinner down at least. Others were not so lucky.

He looked around but the last one through was Portman. Wolf was no where in sight. For a moment, Reaper worried. Wondering if at the last moment, Wolf was ordered to stay behind. But soon the core expanded and Wolf appeared. Lightly landing on his feet with the most neutral expression one could possibly make after Ark Travel. He didn't look effected by the rough sledding at all. In fact he didn't even look like he had to make some effort keeping his food down. 

"Earth side of the Ark secure Sarge. Six hour Quarantine initiation confirmed."

Wolf announced. Sarge nodded.  _So that's why he was the last to come through._ Reaper walked up to him and dropped a hand on his shoulder when he passed him. 

"Why do we have to come all this way? Why can't UAC rent-a-cops take care of this bullshit?"

Portman complained while resolutely wiping his mouth after he heaved and threw up everything he had left to give on the platform. The cleaners would have fun with that... Gross. Mark who also had given up the contents of his own stomach wiped his mouth and tried not to heave a second time as the stench of stomach acid entered his nose. He tried not to breathe it in for he was certain that he would just throw up again. Wolf's advice had helped him a lot to get through this. And though it was his first experience, it was better then going in unprepared. But it was still horribly rough.

"Is it always that rough?"

He asked nearly coughing. Wolf patted him on the back as he walked passed and followed Reaper who greeted the next person to answer that question.

"Believe me it used to be a lot rougher."

Some sort of new tech wheelchair with the top half of a man in it came rolling towards the platform to greet the men. 

"There was a time when Ark Travel was susceptible to, let's say... Major turbulence..."

The guy finished his answer with his arms crossed. Clearly he was speaking from experience. As if the Wheelchair didn't give it away. But still, Mark didn't get it.

"What does he mean?" 

Reaper snorted.

"He means he went to one galaxy, his ass went to another."

The guy wasn't amused.

"Call it a scientific miscalculation... unbelievable as it may seem, UAC does make the odd tiny mistake."

Wolf chuckled and approached the guy.

"And here i thought they were doing it on purpose. Too bad they didn't split your personality too."

The guy in the chair pulled a fake grin but then it morphed into a real one as he saw Aiden approaching. 

"You must be the funniest guy on the squad, Wolf. It was so peaceful and quiet around here. And now the troublemaker is home again."

Wolf grinned.

"How're you doing Pinky?"

The guy gestured to his entire physique. 

"How do you think? I'm still rolling around."

Wolf burst out with a laugh.

"You're hilarious. Guys. Meet Marcus Pinzerowsky. aka Pinky."

A few of the guys snorted. Including Reaper. 

"Follow me"

Pinky all but ordered and turned his wheelchair around. Aiden rolled his eyes but followed him anyway. Right to the console Pinky would be working from.

* * *

"Where are the personnel who aren't locked down in the Lab?" 

Sarge started his investigation by gathering more information on what exactly the situation was up here. 

"In the Atrium"

Wolf tilted his head.

"All of them? Have the living quarters been searched?"

"all except Dr. Carmack's team and Lab security. Cameras did a Thermal sweep of the living quarters. It's empty. Everyone is in the Atrium."

"Pinky put us up"

Sarge ordered. With a few buttons pressed on the console, Pinky started up remote personal surveillance. He pressed a few more to get it all going and stabilize the images coming in. 

"Circle up men. on my three"

The marines drew closer, in a circle they waited for Sarge to count and cocked their guns at the same time. All pointing at random directions. But for a second it looked like a real tense standoff if you didn't know what was going on. 

"Kill cams up and running."

Pinky responded. Sarge continued with briefing his men about the plan.

"People this room is a code red. Which means no one gets in or out without our permission. It stays ours at all cost.. Mac. Stay here with our friend and secure the door."

Pinky looked up for a moment.

"No catching up on old times then?"

He asked Wolf. Aiden shook his head.

"Sorry Pinky. I got orders. Another time. Drinks on me."

"I'll hold you to that."

"yeah, Don't quote me."

Sarge arched a brow at the two. 

"Are you ladies done? We got a job to do."

Wolf glared briefly at him but responded in kind.

"Just finished my tea Sir. i'm all set."

It made John grin. Only Aiden could get away with that kind of a language to Sarge. Especially on a mission.

"Good. Men on me. Let's move out."


	3. Samantha Grimm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John hangs on to Wolf's mental support as he comes face to face with his estranged twin sister.  
> Wolf has other concerns as there is no sign of the assembly of his old team. And the only one still on Olduvai seems to be locked in with Dr. Carmack's team.

* * *

Like ordered, Mac stayed behind in the Ark portal room. Protecting the core against any unwanted activities. The rest moved through a thick steel door to the Atrium where nearly all the staff and their families were gathered. Nearly all heads turned their way as they passed by.

"Who called in the military?"

one guy said. A little girl pointed to them.

"Dad look!"

It was all white noise to Wolf who looked around with a deep frown on his face. As they stopped in the middle of the Atrium, he scanned the crowd but did not find what he was looking for.

"Wolf?" Sarge turned to him.

"Anything?"

Wolf did another sweep but he sighed and shook his head.

"I don't see them. I guess we're on our own. Still... Considering it's something new, caution would be advised."

Sarge nodded and turned to his men, but Wolf immediately turned to John.

"One of our own is up there with Dr. Carmack's team, but my team was not deployed. I don't get it."

"Maybe Dr. Carmack exaggerated when he called a level 5 breach?"

"Maybe. But that would not explain the absence of the team that originally ran this place. Why call for outsiders when you can call on specialized ops that have already seen this place inside and out? It feels off. And if something's wrong, then i gotta find out what."

"You wanna tell Sarge?"

"And spook the guy before we even start? No. This might just be in my head. I haven't talked to any of my old team members in five years. Maybe this is just paranoia on my part."

John nodded and patted on Wolf's shoulder to give him some support. It got him thinking though. Wolf usually didn't have a lot of reason to be concerned. He was the calmest guy on the team. If he worried about something, he had a good reason to.

Portman was creeping up some women, telling them about how he had to 'strip search' them because of the level 5 quarantine. He was called back by Sarge and like a dog who's leash was janked, Portman came back right after being interrupted talking to a blonde woman. Wolf tilted his head when he saw John tense from the corner of his eye. So... That was Samantha.

Reaper scooted a little closer to Wolf without anyone but Wolf actually noticing. He thought he was ready, but he couldn't do this. He wasn't ready for this. He needed help to get through this. Wolf stood his ground, but Reaper found solace in the strength of his friend. Wolf's calm demeanor helped him to stay focused. Wolf had worries too. His head was also filled with questions and other things. But if he could keep calm under such pressure, so could John. 

"Sergeant, this is Dr. Samantha Grimm. UAC science officer assigned to retrieve data from the Lab"

One of the employees introduced her to the rest of the team. Wolf knew who she was. He could kind of guess it from how John reacted. On top of that Reaper told him about her before. The long lost sister. They didn't look like twins directly, but Wolf could definitely see the strong resemblance between the two. 

"sergeant" She greeted.

"Dr. Grimm" Sarge replied.

Then she turned to John.

"Hello John." 

She said in a soft voice, John replied with an equally soft one.

"Hello Samantha."

Duke behind him seemed very interested in her beauty. 

"hello~ samantha"

he hummed quietly. But not quiet enough for other team members not to hear. 

"Sarge this operation is a code red. We really don't have room for passengers."

John protested. He was on a mission. He thought he was ready but he didn't want to have to deal with a reunion right now. He and Samantha grew apart over the last decade and he couldn't just act like a responsible brother now that they were face to face again. 

"Excuse me, but i have orders to retrieve data from three servers, anthropology, Forensic archaeology and Genetics." 

She replied with resoluteness and stubbornness and John feared there was little he could do about her joining in on this mission.

"Dr. Grimm? I'm Wolf i'm of the former SOAD and i was ordered to retrieve sensitive data from an encrypted terminal in Genetics. Would you like me to extract all the files at once? It would save you some considerable work."

Reaper shifted his eyes to Wolf. Till thus far, Wolf had kept quiet over his personalized orders diverting from the rest of them. But at least now John had a hint of what Wolf was suppose to do.

"That would help a great deal. Thank you."

She replied. John still didn't agree though.

"This is a military operation Dr. We're really not here to retrieve your science homework."

Wolf jotted an elbow in his ribs on which John glared at him but Aiden shook his head at the glare.

"We have orders to retrieve UAC property. Not just me. We. Sorry John."

Wolf replied. John groaned.

"Are we finally done here because i've got a job to do." 

Samantha turned on her heel and started walking, guiding the way for the team. She seemed agitated. Perhaps also put off by the appearance of her brother. Seeing him again like that must not be easy. Or she didn't take kindly to the way he talked to her. Wolf could only guess she wasn't a kind of woman who let being patronized slide. 

"You chose this Reaper"

Sarge commented.

"Is this gonna spoil my day?"

Reaper sighed as he started following Sarge and Wolf who followed Samantha down the hall. 

"No sir."

Wolf adjusted his pace to fall in next to John.

"You okay?"

He asked. Reaper nodded but he knew better then to tell Wolf in words that he was okay. Aiden knew him well enough to say he was not okay. Then Duke snuck up on the two of them. 

"Tell me you didn't let a fine looking piece of ass get away from you reaper."

He said while eyeing Samantha. Wolf snorted and Reaper turned his head with a glare.

"She's my sister."

That took Duke full on by surprise.

"No shit?!"

"Don't do this again man." Destroyer mumbled behind him. Duke just grinned.

"Do what?"

Wolf eyed Reaper for a moment longer. But as Reaper begrudgingly accepted his sister to be a part of the mission, there wasn't much else to talk about. 

* * *

Wolf stepped up to Sarge and Dr. Grimm as they shared more information on the lab complex.

"There's three sections to Carmack's lab complex" Sarge started. Samantha wanted to reply but Wolf pitched in before her.

"There's Archeology, Genetics and Weapons research, the last two of which i need to extract files from the encrypted servers. One on each terminal."

Samantha eyed Wolf with mild interest and appreciation to his knowledge and nodded.

"We're primarily an Archaeological operation. Weapons research is in it's own separate facility, it has nothing to do with Dr. Carmack's work."

"How many inside when the Lab shut down?" 

"Dr. Carmack's team. That's six people."

"Seven."

Sarge and Samantha both turned their heads at Wolf.

"One of mine is up there. Stationed as security guard. So that's seven people. I have orders to find her. It's top priority. That and the data collection from the terminals in Genetics and weapons research."

Both Sarge and Samantha nodded. Reaper felt a hint of dread in his stomach as those orders were mentioned. 'one of mine' and 'her' could only mean 'Specter'. John felt awful for disliking someone he never even met. But just the idea that Wolf was perhaps more then friendly with her was irritating and getting under his skin. 

"In one of the labs there was an internal phone left off the hook"

Samantha continued. But when Sarge asked if she got any information from it, the recording that was played was more then disturbing. Some strange noise and a lot of screaming was all that could be heard on the audio file.

"Play it again."

Wolf said. And as the recording played a second time, he frowned and listened to it with a deepened concentration. 

"Anything familiar?"

Sarge asked.

"No not really. Just thought i heard something. But no."

* * *

They entered the airlock and Pinky put up schematics of the facility on the screen in the air lock to give the crew an idea of what the place looked like. Wolf didn't need those blue prints to know where he was going. He knew the facility better then any of them. 

"Carmack's lab is separate from the rest of the facility. This Airlock is the only way in or out."

Pinky showed the airlock on screen. Sarge made a mental note of the map and turned around to start dividing tasks. 

"Goat, Portman. Genetics. Kid, Destroyer, Carmack's office where he send the mayday from. Reaper, Keep Dr. Grimm here safe on her salvage OP. Duke and i will take the weapons lab and make sure all the gear is secure. Wolf. You good to go?"

Wolf eyed John and Samantha for a bit. Both of them had looks on their faces that said they weren't incredibly happy with this arrangement. Aiden wanted to help, he really did. But he knew John was a capable soldier and perhaps this was a good opportunity for him considering he had been avoiding contact with Samantha for at least a decade. John looked at him with pleading eyes and Wolf sighed. He had other things to do. 

"Yeah. I'll start with Weapons Research. If Specter had to dig in she'd do it there. When i have the files and she isn't there i'll get to Genetics to salvage the rest."

Sarge nodded and ordered the men to move out.

"Are you seriously leaving me to my own devices right now?"

Reaper whispered quietly when he passed Wolf. Aiden looked at him with a sympathetic smile.

"You two may not see eye to eye. But she's your sister. And the only family you have left. It doesn't hurt to try and reconnect. Even if you disagree with what she does. Trust me. You'll thank me later."

"I'm not so sure."

"Look i got orders, but when i can i'll get back to you as soon as possible to give you some support okay?"

"I feel abandoned"

"You big baby."

"Fuck you"

Wolf grinned and patted Reaper's shoulder as if to wish him good luck. John hated it that Aiden often knew what was best for him even if he didn't agree. He wasn't looking forward to being left alone with his sister. But at least Wolf promised to come back and get him some mental support as soon as possible. Samantha eyed the interaction between the two with a lightly tilted head. She said nothing but she noted what she saw in her head.

* * *

The hallways were completely dark with only some emergency lighting here and there still working. Most of the power was out and parts of the hallway were broken and torn up. It was a complete mess. Wolf navigated the dark easily. He always had a better night vision then anyone in the team. Making him the best at sneaking around and executing stealth attacks. His sniper skills were no joke either. He could hit a target with deadly accuracy from more then half a mile away. Needless to say his sharp eyes also made him the scout in just about every night OP they ever did. He always had to go first. Not that he cared. Wolf was good that way.

Followed by Sarge and Duke, he made his way to the weapons section of the facility. While he left the clearing of the hallways and the room to Duke and Sarge, he positioned himself behind the computer in Weapons Research and tapped a few keys. Within a few seconds, he was in the system extracting files on a flash drive sticking out of the computer. With a few codes and some more key tapping, Wolf entered a dark server on the terminal. 

_Restricted access Dark Server Encrypted Terminal. Identification profile required._

The Machine sang. Wolf tapped the keys again and filled in his own identification. putting his thumb against the upper right corner of the screen for fingerprint identification. 

_Access Granted. Authorized ID match 4221, Wolf. Subject status: Active._

Wolf smirked and continued working on the files while Duke and Sarge eyed the weapons stashed away in plain sight. Sarge's eye quickly fell on an image on a different monitor showing a new model called BFG. A very, very big gun. To say he was interested was an understatement. Sarge would be happy to get his hands on that thing, but looking at the weapon stash he noticed that the BFG was not among them. Of course that was the thing they had locked up. 

"Geez, they leave shit like this laying around? I hate to see what they lock up."

Duke mumbled. Wolf looked up from the terminal.

"Only the best of the best. You should see the testing area. Shooting range's amazing up here. Used to spend my free time trying out all these babies for science. Best job you could land up here."

"So what made you leave?"

Wolf sighed. 

"I had... issues. My superiors thought i could use a time out, hence i joined you bunch of assholes for some therapeutic downtime."

Wolf grinned and Sarge shook his head. He made his way over to the vault, trying to see if he could get access to that BFG. Duke snorted but then reverted to a more interesting topic.

"hey Sarge? What's the deal with the sister?"

Wolf focused back on the terminal but he was listening to the reply as well as Duke.

"Reaper's parents are the first team of archaeologists to Olduvai. They died in some accident when he was a kid. She followed in their footsteps and he didn't."

Sarge explained while being very distracted by the BFG. His whole face just betrayed his desire to get his hands on a brand new toy. Wolf glanced at him from the corner of his eye. 

"No what i meant was, is she single?"

Duke then said. Both Sarge and Wolf glared at him which quickly made him shut up about it.

"She's not interested in tough guy Marines. Anyone with a basic knowledge about humans and their behavior patterns can tell she goes for men with their heart in the right place. plenty of work for you Duke."

Wolf replied without looking up from the terminal. Duke faked a grin at him and glared. Meanwhile Sarge tried to open up the safe to the BFG. But as DNA identification was required, he didn't get very far. 

_Please Provide DNA identification..._

He put his hand in the scanner but of course, he didn't have access to that thing.

_Access denied._

Wolf smirked and finished his work on the terminal.

_Process complete. Dark Server Terminated._

"Yes thank you." Wolf mentioned as he took the flashdrive out and stuffed it in his pocket.

"You know you're not going to get in there if your DNA is not on file Sarge."

He mumbled at Sarge's failed attempt. The man grumbled.

"You're gonna be a smart ass about it Wolf?"

"Depends. You want a new toy to play with Sarge?"

Wolf stood up and made his way over to Sarge and grabbed the keycard from his hands.

"gimme that."

Wolf took the keycard, scanned it, punched in the access code and waited for the lock to ask for verification.

_Please Provide DNA Identification..._

Sarge crossed his arms amused. It wasn't like Wolf was going to get access to something like that. But the surprise hit him when the system recognized Wolf's DNA and granted him access.

_Calibrating... Access granted. Subject Seven: ID 4221. Welcome Wolf._

Sarge frowned as the doors opened to reveal the giant of a gun.

"Being in SOAD or specifically being the leader had it's special perks. Like unlimited access. Still got all my files. If anyone asks. I didn't open up that safe for you. Just make up a nice story on how you got in there."

"Hold on. What the fuck does subject seven mean?" Sarge asked. Wolf shrugged. 

"Some ID tag. Hell if i know."

He took his sniper rifle and then took off. Leaving Sarge and Duke and the big gun in weapons research. Wolf made his way towards Genetics while Sarge looked at the BFG.

"that's a big fucking gun."


	4. Specter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going to Genetics, Wolf runs into Specter, but not in the way he had hoped.  
> John tries to follow up on Wolf's advice to be nice to his sister, but with everything she's telling him he isn't sure he can be patient or polite.

* * *

John walked ahead of Samantha, on his guard after the recording she played earlier that gave nothing but the suspicion something was very wrong in this facility. Wolf had been calm about it, but John knew him well enough to tell from his face that he suspected something. He heard something when that recording played. And though he didn't tell Sarge, because it was probably not worth mentioning, John knew how to pay attention to Wolf's antics well enough to be able to deduct if he needed to take it seriously. And whenever Wolf found something, it was hardly ever a red hearing. Wolf was always on point about these things. There was no way he was wrong. Not even this time. Though Wolf said it was probably paranoia. Just because they both had history with this place didn't mean that he jumped to conclusions quickly.

When they entered archaeology John ordered Samantha to lock the door. She did and turned on the lights. John did a quick sweep of the room but it was clear. 

"How much time you gonna need?"

"30 minutes tops."

great... Somewhere Reaper hoped that would be enough time for Wolf to get done with whatever he needed to do and get his ass back here to team up. It was just so much easier to stay calm with Wolf around. He just had that kind of aura about him that made you feel safe and protected. Some sense of a strong leadership. It made Sarge and Wolf clash sometimes. Considering Sarge might or might not feel threatened by Wolf's big mouth from time to time. But Wolf never actually attempted to take the leadership from him. He just... had that look about him. Dominance. But not in the aggressive kind of way. 

" _Goat. Portman. There's another room to the North. Passed Genetics_ "

Pinky sounded over the coms, Immediately after, Wolf's voice sounded over the coms, making John both relieved and disappointed.

" _Portman. Goat. Don't touch anything. That room's a restricted area. You need me to unlock it. I'm on my way._ "

Well shit. That meant it would take even longer for Wolf to get back here. More time alone with his sister... Not exactly an ideal scenario.

"So... Reaper? As in Grimm?"

Samantha asked with slight amusement in her voice.

"We're Marines, Sam. Not poets..."

He mumbled while letting his glance rake over all the items in the room until they rested on a glass casing with two preserved skeletal remains.

"Holy shit."

Lucy turned around to see what he was looking at and responded.

"Oh yeah meet Lucy. Lucy this is my brother John. Another creature from the long lost past."

John sighed and inwardly he prayed Wolf would be done quickly. He could really use the help right now. Dealing with a woman was one thing, dealing with your sister?... that required a strong back up. Women were scary enough, let alone the ones who were related to you by blood. 

"You found human remains?"

"Humanoid. Lucy and her child were our first major find. We're bringing out more every day."

That information irked him. More remains found only meant one thing: The digsite. It was operational again. After what happened there... How could they even go back to that place and just... continue?

"You reopened the dig."

The words sounded accusingly and John's face stood less then pleased. Sam sighed. It was one of the many things they clashed about these days.

"I know i should have told you. I didn't figure it was something i could jot down on a yearly birthday card."

Ouch. Somewhere he knew he deserved that. But it still hurt.

"It's been stabilized"

"Bullshit!"

"You wanna talk about safe? Like you took a desk job?"

True... Marines weren't exactly safe either. But to reopen the site of the accident... 

"I'm a forensic archaeologist John. I go where the work is."

John gritted his teeth and bit back some harsh comment he wanted to let out in a sneer. Instead he pushed it down. 

"Is that the only reason you're up here?"

She shook her head. 

"You wanna know why i'm up here? C'mere. I'll show you.... This is Lucy's Chromosome profile... Notice anything?"

John walked over and glared. He hadn't been in the business for so long on purpose he hated to be reminded of it again. And of the accident and everything to do with it. 

"My Molecular Genetics is a little rusty."

He mumbled. She looked at him with a look that said: Bullshit. She knew he was lying. He never really forgot everything he learned, But he just had to be cranky about it.

"What's the first thing Dad taught us to look for?"

She opened a file on the terminal and let him look. John turned his eyes to the monitor and glanced over her profile. Surprise striking him when he found the profile didn't match that of a normal human/humanoid creature.

"She's got 24 pairs of chromosomes."

"Humans only have 23"

"What does the extra pair do?"

Sam got up and walked towards Lucy, John followed her while she explained.

"Make her super human. The extra pair makes her super strong, super fit, super intelligent. Her cells divide 50 times faster meaning she heals almost instantly. The fossil record indicates these people had conquered disease. We found no genetic disorders, no viruses, no cancers."

John glanced at the remains of Lucy and then back to his sister.

"So.. what. They were just... Naturally superior?"

Sam shook her head and walked back to the computer. 

"No not naturally. See the earliest remains we found only had 23. We suspect this extra chromosome may be synthetic."

John looked at the remains again. 

"Bio-engineered?"

Sam smiled. "that's a long word for a Marine... Does it ever bother you, you could have spend your life looking through a Microscope instead of a sniperscope?"

No not really... Because if he hadn't picked this career he wouldn't have met Wolf. Then again if he had stayed on Olduvai maybe he would have met Aiden here.. Any road leading up to knowing Aiden was a good road and John wasn't going to regret that. But any road leading to him never meeting Aiden was a road he never wanted to take.

John decided not to answer that. He didn't need to give Sam more ammo to throw at him considering his career choices and his habit of running away from the past.

"If they're so smart... how come they're so dead?"

He stood there while taking in the sight of the remains. The way the bodies were positioned was almost disturbing. As if they died with terror on their faces. And the mother shielding her baby like that... Whatever killed them couldn't have been anything slow. It had to have been instant. And from what he saw, something dangerous as well. 

"We don't know. Maybe they just went with time.." Sam replied.

John however had other scenarios running through his head. All caused by one clear point these remains made:

"You don't shield a baby from time."

" _We got movement up ahead_ "

Portman's voice announced over the coms. John looked up.

"You stay here, Okay? Lock the door."

* * *

 

Wolf made his way down the hall, checking doors for the fluorescent markers they would have when they're cleared. Till thus far, all those he passed had been checked out. Still that didn't mean he could let his guard down. Specter was as clever as he was and she was a fast girl. She could easily have snuck back into an already checked room. Still somehow that didn't make him feel better. If she was in hiding, something was seriously wrong. 

When Wolf got to the room that Pinky mentioned, Goat gave him the keycard he needed to open the door. Wolf took it and swiped it through the slot, adding the cipher code only to put his fingers on the DNA scanner again. 

_Authorization unit ID 4221 Subject Seven, Wolf. Access Granted._

The security system announced while sliding open the heavy doors. Wolf passed through them first. Aiming his rifle at the hole in the ground.

"What the fuck is that?"

Portman mumbled who followed him. Goat who entered last snorted. 

"You never did time Portman?"

"What?"

"It's a holding cell."

Portman looked at it. 

"Bullshit. What makes you say that?"

Wolf quietly peered into it. There was a shadow cast on half of the deep circle.

"Touch it."

Goat nodded to the walls of the cell. Portman didn't think about it and did it, on which he got a nasty voltage shock send flying through his hand.

"Cuz the walls are electrified"

Goat chuckled. 

"You asshole!" Portman hissed, cradling his injured hand.

Wolf had however seen something with the spark that Portman caused. He looked at the chains lowering into the holding cell and then looked down again. 

"Specter?! Can you hear me?! Ellie! Answer me dammit."

Portman and Goat looked down into the shadowy part of the cell. Sure enough there was someone down there. A woman in Marine blue gear. She looked unconscious. 

"What the fuck."

Portman mumbled. 

Then the body moved. Groaning, the woman looked up. 

"Wolf?"

"Hold on Ellie i'm gonna get you out. Portman, Goat. Find me a fucking switch."

Specter slowly got to her feet. Looking up confused.

"Wolf. Why are you here?"

"Shouldn't i ask you the same thing? What in gods name made you stay here on your own? What happened?"

"I'll tell you when you get me out of this fucking thing."

Goat then called from behind a door.

"This might be something."

It was a switch to lower and raise the chains hanging in the center.

"Perfect. Ellie! Hold on to the chains. I'm gonna hoist you up."

She moved over to the chains hanging in the center. Grabbing onto them while Wolf took the switch from Goat's hands and pressed the green button to raise the chains from the cell. When she finally was the right hight to be pulled in, Wolf stepped as far on the edge as he could go without being electrified. 

"Portman, give me a hand."

Wolf reached out and let Portman counter his weight on one side, along with Goat. While he reached to Specter to pull her in from the other side. She grabbed on to him and he pulled her closer.

"On three you guys pull us in as hard as you can. Alright? One. Two. Three!"

Portman and Goat pulled as hard as they could. At the same time Ellie let go of the chains and embraced Wolf. They fell backwards and Specter landed on top of Aiden. He chuckled as her weight fell on top of him. 

"Getting heavy baby girl."

"Shut up Wolf."

She crawled onto her knees, straddling him and before he could say anything else, she punched him right across the jaw. Wolf groaned and gripped at his jaw, looking up at her with disbelief. 

"What the hell was that for?!"

"That was for leaving me alone these five years without so much as a goodbye or a call or even a fucking note!"

She stood up and Wolf sighed as he too struggled to his feet. 

"I can't say i didn't deserve that. But that fucking hurt Ellie! Dammit. You still got a heck of a right hook."

" _Wolf. Everything okay over there?_ "

"Yeah Sarge. Found the first part of my mission. I can't say she's glad to see me though."

Specter looked at him with a murderous glare as she dusted herself off. 

" _Well done. You got more to do?_ "

"still need to extract the files from Genetics. I'll get to it. Sending Portman and Goat your way."

" _Copy that._ "

Wolf sighed and turned to Portman and Goat. 

"You two get to Sarge and report, i'll stick with Specter and get those files from the terminal."

They nodded and started walking, but Ellie had other ideas. 

"No Wolf. Listen to me. You have to tell your team to get out of here now."

"Whoa hey. First of all they aren't my team. You were my team. And the others are not here for some reason. And two: Why the hell were you in a holding cell? What did you do now?"

"I'm telling you it's not me! I got thrown in there by-... something. You have to believe me, we need to get out of here."

"You're not making any sense"

"Wolf listen to me dammit! This happened before... Do you remember the Scales?"

Wolf's face fell as soon as he heard a name he had hoped he would never have to hear again.

"Are you saying this is the same thing?"

"Not quite."

Wolf wanted to reply but then Portman spotted something moving and reported. 

"Movement up ahead."

Wolf took one look in that direction and fished a handgun from his holster.

"Take this and stay close."

* * *

 

Carmack's office was a disaster. Items and equipment was scattered everywhere. The door was ripped open by something and with the power out it all looked worse then it already was. Wolf followed Portman and Goat closely and Specter came in right behind him. 

"Fucking door has been ripped open."

Portman mumbled. Goat looked passed the gaping hole and spotted something moving.

"There's something in Carmack's office."

Wolf took a look and immediately recognized the damage done. He turned his head towards Specter with a questioning and serious look on his face. She nodded quietly. The silent communication between them went unnoticed by Portman and Goat, but even though they didn't talk, Wolf knew exactly what Specter wanted to tell him. Or what she in fact just told him. 

"Fuck"

Wolf mumbled looking back through the ripped doors. 

"Stay with her."

Goat told Wolf. Aiden wasn't the one to argue. He'd have done it even if one of them hadn't mentioned it. Two men checking out the room was more then enough. It gave him an opportunity to turn around and quietly ask Ellie what the fuck was going on. Portman and Goat moved into Carmack's office. Wolf turned around.

* * *

 

"This better not be what the fuck i think it is."

He hissed.

"don't look at me like that. It wasn't like i could stop them even if i tried."

"If they started testing again why didn't any of you speak up?"

"We. did. A lot happened since you were gone Wolf. The others... they disappeared."

"What?"

"When we protested against ideas for new experiments, mentions of the Scales were brought back to the table. Each and every person that even mentioned that place vanished. Send back to earth for other assignments they said. But i know what i saw. The others... they went through the Ark."

"So they are on earth?"

"No, They went through the Ark. They never arrived at earth. They said it was a technical glitch. But with five different people?... Who would actually believe that? I had to keep my mouth shut or i'd be next! that's why i volunteered as security for the labs. I couldn't risk going through the ark again or they would have send me to god knows where too!"

Specter sounded frustrated. And for good reason. Now Wolf understood why that one operative had said that his team 'left'. Involuntarily you might add. 

"Shit Ellie. I didn't know. They put me with RRTS because they were curious about my abilities. I kept my head down so far, but doing that didn't exactly allow close communication to the other side of the Ark. If i had known..."

"If you had known, it would just have been more trouble. Maybe you would have been send away too."

"Ellie... Tell me honestly, did they resume testing?"

"Yes."

"How many subjects?"

"Just one."

"Who?"

Ellie looked at him like it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say it.

"Ellie... who?"

She sighed and looked at him with a clear warning in her eyes.

"A convicted Murderer."

Wolf's eyes widened considerable.

"A mur-... fucking hell.. And they thought James was unstable. How the fuck did they think testing on a convicted murderer was a good idea?"

"I don't know. But like James, he changed. And then he broke out. He's a lot stronger then James was. I couldn't stop him on my own. No one could. Now i fear all the scientists in here are infected. That's why they called you in. You're the last person who can contain this. If you can't do it..."

"This really is the Scales all over again. Fuck!"

In anger, Wolf kicked his boot against the wall.

"I can't just tell Sarge to get his team, drop everything and retreat. He's not going to believe a fucking thing i say. Getting them out will be trickier then threading the needle. You stay close for now. Let me think of a plan to get the fuck out of here."


	5. Dr. Carmack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolf knows shit will be hitting the fan soon. And all he can worry about is John.  
> John meets Specter in the flesh and he isn't too happy about it.

" _Contact!_ "

Goat yelled through the coms. John had been jogging fast pace through the dark halls, but instantly he hit a switch in his mind and started running. Contact meant that whatever they were chasing was close to Wolf as well. He wasn't the one to normally panic easily. But he was however very responsive when it came to situations involving Wolf and danger. Goat and Portman were chasing it through Carmack's office.

" _Can't see a damn thing. It's moving too fast._ "

Wolf sounded over the coms. The Kid and Destroyer also found a trail of whoever was running through the office. Running into them, Reaper first called a halt to the shots being fired and then moved in on the front. 

"If you have a weapon, drop it!"

he called out. He was still skeptical on it being anything but one of the scientists gone crazy. Wolf just entered from the other side of the hallway, moving in with someone behind him. Reaper recognized her face instantly from the photo on the cover of Wolf's sketch pad. Specter. His heart sank in his shoes. So... they were reunited. When he heard it over the com he chose to ignore it. But now he had to face reality. Wolf had his girlfriend back.

Sarge came running with Duke as well and as they finally cornered the creature, it turned out to be a very, very deranged Dr. Carmack. He was holding a severed arm that wasn't his and there was blood on his clothes. He was breathing heavily and shaking. On the edge of hyperventilating. Wolf instantly spotted a red patch on his neck. Then Samantha came around the corner. Carmack twitched as if he was scared to be attacked again.

"Sam i told you to stay-"

John started but Samantha wouldn't let him pull her back.

"-But he knows me John!"

She carefully approached him. Wolf lowered his weapon and gestured Ellie to stay back.

"Careful Doctor. He's in shock."

He said. Closing in a bit on Carmack and Samantha. 

"Dr. Carmack it's me... Samantha. Where are the others?"

Carmack's wild eyes shifted from her to Wolf and back.

"Careful. He's running on instinct. He's scared. If you scare him more he might do something violent."

Wolf held a hand out to Samantha to hold her back.

"Let me."

Samantha took a step back.

"Dr. Carmack?"

Wolf tried. Inching a small step closer. 

"Dr. Carmack. I can't help you if you don't let me.. Can you tell me where the others are?"

Wolf inched another step closer. Carmack dropped the severed arm he was holding and grabbed onto Wolf's arm instead. Like a lifeline. But so sudden, all other team member, including Specter got spooked.

"Wolf!"

Reaper and Specter both shouted. Everyone except Samantha raised their guns at Dr. Carmack.

"Hold your fire! It's okay! He's not hurting me. It's okay. He's scared. Lower your fucking guns."

Wolf said, but at the same time, Carmack gripped his own ear, and ripped it off.

"Oh! Jesus Christ!" Samantha called in shock. Quickly giving a bandage gauze to cover the bleeding. 

Wolf took it and pressed it up against Carmack's ear. The doctor was still tightly holding onto Wolf's other arm. Like it was the only thing that kept him safe. 

"Dr. Grimm. We have to get him to the infirmary. Quick."

Wolf said. He glanced sideways, noting that Sarge had the BFG in his hands. The man was too eager to play with something new and advanced. But Wolf ignored it for now. His focus was on Dr. Carmack. Sarge nodded to Duke.

"Duke, get him to the infirmary with Dr. Grimm. Portman, Kid. Go to the airlock and dig in. Anything trying to get away from us will get driven straight to you." 

Dr. Carmack shied behind Wolf when Samantha approached him, so Wolf nodded to Specter who stood behind him.

"Sarge, Me and Specter are going to the infirmary. At this point he's not letting go of me, i have to take him there myself."

Sarge nodded and Wolf wrapped his free arm around Dr. Carmack. 

"Come on. Let's get you fixed up."

Shortly Wolf shared glances with Specter. The only one who noticed was John. He then sought eye contact with Wolf and Aiden looked at him, shaking his head softly before moving out with Dr. Carmack, Sam, Specter and Duke in tow. 

* * *

On the way to the infirmary they ran into one of the scientists from Dr. Carmack's team. She seemed to be alright. For now. But Wolf wasn't taking any chances. When he put Dr. Carmack down on an operating table, the Doctor pulled him in.

"Sh-sh-... shut it down. y-y- have to... s-shut... shut it down"

Wolf took him by the shoulders. 

"Shh. It's okay. I know. I know. I'm going to take care of it. Keep still. Alright? I'm gonna take care of it."

Carmack let him go and Wolf grabbed his rifle with renewed purpose. 

"Ellie. Stay here. The holding cell i found you in. Was it empty?"

She looked up.

"Was it empty?"

Specter shook her head. 

"No it wasn't. He's still there."

"Then how did this get around?"

"Projectile. Like James."

"Fuck. Alright. Stay here. Duke. Don't let anything into the infirmary. I don't care how it's trying to get in. Nano wall or not. It could use the fucking vents if it's desperate enough. Specter. You watch his six."

Wolf ran through the Nano wall which Specter closed up once he was through. Carmack was still in shock and seemed more restless now that Wolf was gone. Samantha did what she could to help him, but he was in a strange condition.

* * *

"We heard something in Genetics. We're re-entering"

" _That's affirmative Reaper_ "

Reaper and Goat were now paired up as they walked through the doors in Genetics. The animals that were previously caged there were now all over the place. Blood and gore sticking to the walls. Enough to make even the most seasoned marines sick to the stomach. Reaper grimaced at the sight. Whatever had attacked Dr. Carmack had to be here. Goat who stood next to him couldn't believe his eyes. All these animals were alive not too long ago. 

"Looks like we missed the party"

Reaper whispered. Goat shook his head.

"We were just here. What happened to all the animals?"

he whispered back. The confusion was clear on his face. Whatever this was, it moved fast and killed even faster. Then a noise startled them both. One of the scientists was working his way into the rat cage. Weird growls were coming from his mouth.

"Sir? RRTS we're here to help."

Reaper spoke, trying to make contact. The scientist either didn't hear him or didn't give a fuck. He continued by grabbing a Rat.

"Sir.. You okay?"

Reaper tried again. The scientist turned around chewing off the rat's head. The sight was enough to make John want to vomit on the spot, but he kept it together.

"O...kay..."

Then the guy grabbed a knife.

"no no no no no... Sir! put it down. Sir!"

The scientist didn't listen nor cared for any of John's words. He rushed towards the marines with the knife and Goat and Reaper were forced to put him down.

" _Contact report!_ "

Sarge shouted through the com. Reaper sighed.

"We finally found one of the scientist. Some weird shit going on here Sarge."

_"Can you ID him?"_

Reaper stood with the same grimace in place that he got when he saw the scientist bite down on that rat. He looked awful. Disgustingly so. Searching his clothes, Reaper found an ID tag. 

"Dr. Olsen. He rushed us. Crazy just like Carmack."

" _You can expect the whole team of scientists to be like that. If they were normal we would have found them by now._ "

Wolf mentioned through the com. He spoke as if he already gave up on the other scientists. 

"Shall we bag m and tag m Sir?"

_"Negative. Keep searching."_

yeah... for what? If what wolf said was true... then there were only crazy people left to shoot.

" _What the Fuck... Sir. I think i got- FUCKING HELL_ "

Wolf reported just before he yelled and his com resonated3 shots of gun fire which echoed also through the hall.

"Wolf!" John yelled through the com.

" _Wolf contact report_ "

" _Something got the Jump on me! It's big, not human. Moving fast!_ "

" _Dammit Wolf i need confirmation on what you saw_ "

" _The FUCK if i know! It's heading to the sewers! South east corner!  What the fuck is- Jezus Chri-_ "

static and white noise filled the other side of the line just as Wolf was cut off. Reaper never grew hot then cold so quickly in his life. His heartbeat raced so loud it might beat out of his chest. Adrenaline filled his body and he felt the angst squeeze his throat when all he could think of was Wolf facing down whatever the hell was in here on his own. Possible even getting hurt. Reaper didn't think. He started running in the right direction with Goat in tow. When he finally got to the part that Wolf mentioned, the grate covering the sewer was completely deformed and torn away. There was a hole in the concrete wall from where someone or something bashed into it.

"Wolf?!"

Nothing. No reply. Not a sound. The silence was nearly too much to bare.

"AIDEN?!"

Reaper shouted panicked. Louder this time. Goat looked around.

"Yeah! Over here."

Wolf's voice reached them from further away. He looked like someone slammed him into concrete. But other then the dust, he had no cuts or bruises. But the back of his vest was torn up. He walked up to Goat and Reaper with a bit of sway in his steps like someone hit him over the head.

"You hurt? What happened?"

John walked over to check him for injuries. It looked like the hole in the concrete was made by Wolf slamming into it. But he didn't appear to be bruised miraculously.

"Fucker got the jump on me. Whatever it was. It looked like a big fucking zombie. You know those gross movie kind? The ones that rot? I know it ain't a fucking zombie. But it sure as hell looked like one. Gross. It went down the Sewers."

Goat took a look down but he couldn't see anything. 

"It's gone now."

“Did it get you? Your back is torn.”

John’s voice was filled with concern as his eyes slid over the chaos that was Aiden’s tattered vest. Wolf glanced over his shoulder like he forgot that someone attacked him.

“Oh yeah, he grazed my vest and shirt but missed me by a hair. I got lucky.”

John glared at him.

“You sure he didn’t scratch you? Looks deep to me.”

Wolf turned around and raised a brow, making John self conscious about his concern. But then Aiden’s look softened and he smiled at John. 

“You can check me if that makes you feel better.”

He offered. Though John didn’t want to jump the chance and be too obvious about his concern for Aiden, he couldn’t exactly say no. And his response was a bit too eager and too quick for his own taste.

“Take it off”

John motioned to Wolf’s vest. The latter chuckled and laid aside his gun, grasping for the clasps of his vest. It came off in one piece, which John deemed as miraculous considering how deep the fabric was torn. Wolf was right, it went deep enough to even tear up his shirt. But there were no dark patches of any kind. Still, John had to be sure. He reached out, his bare fingertips probing between the parted pieces of cloth in search for Aiden’s bare skin. He felt nothing. No blemishes or marred tissue of any kind.

Wolf gripped the edge of his shirt’s collar and pulled it over his head. Hoisting up the tattered clothing, exposing his back fully to Reaper. John felt a shiver run through him as the fabric was lifted and the cloth slipped from between his fingers. Allowing full contact with Aiden’s exposed back. There was no wound in sight. His entire back was still as flawless as it had always been. Apart from some dirt and blood, which was apparently not his. John let out a relieved sigh.

“See? I’m not hurt”

Wolf turned causing Reaper’s fingertips to slide to his abs. Wolf’s dog tags dangled on his chest. Like puberty never hit him, he was smooth like a baby, without body hair to show his maturity. But no where near boyish. He still had the body of a well trained grown man. With fine lined abs and all the good muscles in all the right places.It made Reaper ache to get his hands on that body. To trace all the fine lines with his fingertips and then his lips and his tongue. John quickly pulled his hand away. Embarrassed at his sexual thoughts. He swore he saw a glint of disappointment in Wolf’s eyes. But that could easily have been his imagination. Wolf put his shirt and his vest back on much to John’s disappointment.

“Had to be sure.”

He responded. Aiden nodded to him with his head.

“What about you? I heard you clipped a scientist?”

Reaper confirmed his condition.

“I’m good me and Goat got him before he could do damage.”

Aiden picked up his gun again.

“Keep it that way. Damn thing 's fast. Watch your six.”

Wolf replied. John grinned.

“That’s what i’ve got you for right?”

Aiden chuckled and shook his head. It made Reaper feel all warm inside. Which only confirmed his feelings once more. He was hopelessly in love with Wolf. And now that things were getting serious and people were getting hurt. It just stressed him more and more. Wolf got lucky. But what if he wasn't so lucky. What if one of them got injured in such a way they would never be able to go on missions together again? 

This whole Op going sideways was a switch for John who felt a nagging sensation in his gut. Somehow knowing that if he didn't tell Wolf how he felt, he would never have the chance again. Only perhaps he was already too late. He knew Specter was in the infirmary. Wolf was happy he found her. Maybe the chance to win him over had already passed. On top of that. They were in the middle of a mission. When was a good time to confess to your best friend that you're head over heels with him? Never. That's when.

Goat had walked away to secure other parts of the hallway. By the time he came back, he had Sarge, Portman, Destroyer and Kid in tow. Wolf pointed down to the sewer entrance. It went down there.

"I thought going to shit was a figure of speech" Portman complained.

"Get in the goddamn hole Portman" Sarge barked at him. And so, down they went.


	6. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolf tells Reaper to stay close. He knows what's happening but he can't explain before Goat is struck by the same creature that attacked him.

The stench was unbearable. That and the sploshing sound of their feet in the dirty water set the mood for some complaining among the men. 

"I can't see shit down here."

Portman complained. Wolf having recovered from his previous encounter with the thing snorted.

"I can. I'm looking at it."

He replied while keeping his eyes on Portman. Reaper snorted and Kid let out a chuckle. Even Sarge couldn't wipe a smirk off his face. They shuffled through the dark tunnels further and further. Wet noises all around. Dripping water make for an eerie echo through the tunnels. They walked a few meters until Sarge found a coat floating in the sewers with a name tag on it from Dr. Steve Willits. 

Wolf looked at it and then gripped at his head. Making a face as if he's listening to someone scratching down a chalkboard. After a moment he's back to normal again. Sarge frowned. 

"You okay?"

"Bastard hit me over the head. I'll be fine."

"You need downtime?"

"Nah. Just let me stick with Reaper. I'm good."

"Okay."

Sarge tossed the drenched lab coat and ordered the men to continue. The sewers were tricky to navigate. They followed each other closely while Wolf closed in on Reaper, the last one closing the line.

"hey"

He whispered.

"How's your head?"

Wolf tossed him a side glance. 

"Nothing wrong with my head. I faked it."

"Why would you do that?"

"To stay close to you. Call me crazy but i think i know what's going on here and if i'm right: Shit's gonna hit the fan real soon."

On one hand, John was touched that Aiden wanted to stay close. It gave him a spark of hope that Aiden might feel something for him. On the other hand it also made him suspicious. Wolf had been acting too aware to John's liking. Though he cursed and was as surprised as any when he was attacked, it took him no time at all to cool down and become his collected self again. And if he said he knew what was going on...

"So you know what it is?"

"One of the scientists."

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious. This might be some kind of virus. Just stay close okay?"

Reaper frowned but he didn't question it. He always sought out an excuse to be paired up with Wolf anyway. 

* * *

They had been walking through the sewers for a while. Their noses no longer sensitive to the horrible smell and their feet no longer uncomfortable in cold waters. Their boots were soaked and so were their cargo pants. Still there was no sign of whatever had attacked Wolf.

"Be sober, Be vigilant. Because your adversary the Devil walketh about seeking who'm he may devour."

Goat preached after a long period of silent treading. He always did that when a situation like this was starting to get on his nerves. 

"that's real comforting Goat" Portman teased him. "That ain't freaking me out at all."

The sarcasm dripped from his voice like the water dripped from the walls. Right before he yelped and disappeared under water. Goat saw it happen and called out right away.

"PORTMAN!"

Sarge turned around instantly.

"What the fuck?"

Reaper was over to where Portman fell instantly, Leaning down to grab into the water.

"Wait, Somebody's down there! Come on!"

He grabbed what he assumed was Portman and started tugging him back to the surface. Goat helped from Reaper's left, The Kid from his right.

"Goddamn Son of a Bitch is heavy!"

Reaper yelled while nearly going face first into the sewer crap himself. He pulled and pulled until Portman's head came above the water. Wolf moved behind Reaper and pulled on him, pulling them both up. 

"Quick he's slipping back!"

Reaper yelled. Wolf grabbed Portman by the collar and pulled him up with relative ease compared to the others.

"Portman! What the hell happened?!"

Sarge roared the minute Portman was back up on his feet. Portman gestured towards the water.

"I fell in the damn hole. Shit.."

Sarge gritted his teeth in annoyance and barked at the men.

"Everyone on me and Watch your goddamn footing."

Portman was now soaking wet from head to toe. No doubt the smell would also take some time to come off. Wolf chuckled and patted Portman on the back.

"oh come on Portman. At least there's hardly a difference. You always smell like shit."

"Fuck you, Wolf"

"Not in a million years Portman"

Reaper smirked and eyed Wolf who gave him a wink, clear enough to be seen in the dark. Now Reaper was glad it was actually dark. He didn't need anyone to see the flush on his face when he caught that wink. Now that the nerves were playing up and the adrenaline was wearing off, these itty bitty school girl reactions were starting to surface on the most inappropriate of times. They were in the Sewers for gods sake. Up to their knees in shit and piss. Looking for something that potentially wanted to kill them. Fucking hormones just couldn't leave it be.

* * *

Further down the sewers they had to split up. Sarge took Portman to his side, probably because of his little stunt earlier. John, Wolf and the Kid were send to the right while Goat was directed straight ahead and alone. Because arguably Sarge still thought that Wolf was bothered by being hit over the head. They were a few meters into their own direction when John eyed Aiden from the corner of his eye. Wolf stood still, staring into a certain direction while his head was tilted and clearly he was listening to a whole other direction. 

"Aiden?"

"It's watching us."

Wolf whispered soft enough so the Kid wouldn't be able to hear it.

"Where?"

Wolf looked around but shook his head. 

"It keeps moving around, it's hard to pinpoint but i know when i'm being looked at. This thing's watching us. Be careful."

John nodded to Wolf, doing a sweep of their surroundings himself. He couldn't see much. Not as much as Wolf. But if Wolf saw something, then Reaper believed him. Then Wolf was triggered by something and instantly, Reaper and the Kid stood on sharp as well. Pointing their guns in the same direction, until Wolf sighed and lowered his.

"Dammit"

 He muttered. The Kid turned around to Reaper.

"You lost your folks right?"

He asked. Loud. Obnoxious and out of the blue. And Reaper didn't like it. Not only was it uncalled for, but he didn't have any desire to let anyone except Aiden get close to his personal life. 

"Shut up"

He bit back. It didn't sound like The Kid got the hint.

"Small world. I mean i lost my parents, too. Yeah i mean i woke up one morning and everything was gone. I mean, the only thing left was me. They wanted the TV more then they wanted me."

Reaper was triggered, he didn't choose to loose his parents like he did and he sure as hell didn't want to bond over it with some newbie. Aiden had the one and only right to get up close and personal and slide under his skin like he belonged there. no one else needed to be digging. On top of that, The Kid didn't know how to be quiet. That thing was watching them, it could very well be triggered by the sound of that kid's voice.  He grabbed the Kid by his collar and pushed him against a wall, threatening him with that position. 

"Every time you open your mouth, you give away our position."

He pushed on Mark's neck. Making it hard for him to breathe. 

"John.."

Wolf tried to calm him down with a hand on his shoulder. Though he knew he was right. 

"Wait a minute..." John grabbed his red flashlight and held it in front of Mark's face.

"Your pupils are dilated... Are you high?"

"What?" The Kid laughed. Also loud enough to give away their position.

"Portman. I'm gonna kill him." Wolf hissed through his teeth. 

"No i got this condition..." 

Kid started, but John cut him off.

"I don't give a damn.. You take one more shot of that shit and i'll blow holes in you. Are we clear?"

Though the Kid nodded furiously, Wolf tugged John gently away from him. 

"John. It's not his fault. Portman should know better then to hand him that shit."

"But he's the one who took it."

"Maybe. With all that's going on i don't blame him. Not everyone has the luxury of Earth bound missions on their first go. Cut him some slack."

"If he puts us in danger and either one of us gets hurt-"

"I didn't need his babbling to get me tossed around like a sack of potatoes so stop trying to put the blame on him. We're all a little too tense right now."

Reaper wanted to stay angry at the kid. He really did. But he couldn't. Because dammit if there was something Wolf was good at it was calming down wound up team mates. Especially John had a weak for Aiden's techniques. A hand on the shoulder, seeping warmth into him, accompanied by a warm soft voice and well chosen words.. It did him in almost instantly nearly every time. 

"So... Now that we're on the personal story telling tour. I got one for ya. But you have to promise not to tell a soul. Not even the other guys. You promise?" 

Wolf turned to Danatalian to make him promise. Mark nodded with wide eyes. Reaper eyed him with a look that said: what is he doing now? Wolf motioned the Kid to come a little closer. When he did, Aiden wrapped an arm around him.

"I lost my folks too. Pretty sour actually, they couldn't take care of me. Dumped me in an Orphanage, three days later, car crash. Boom. Both dead instantly. I did however get a cute memento You want to know where my handle ID Wolf comes from?"

Kid looked up expectantly. Reaper guarded their position while he listened interested in the answer. That was a new story. one he hadn't heard before either. 

"My middle name. I try to keep it hidden. Because it's embarrassing, but apparently my parents liked Classical music so much they named me after one of the composers. My middle name.... Is Wolfgang."

Mark nearly choked on his own spit. Even John had to bite his lips for a moment to keep himself from laughing. 

"Aiden Wolfgang Taylor?" 

Mark chuckled.

"Yep. But i'll kill you if you tell anyone so hush hush. okay?"

Wolf put his finger to his lips and Mark nodded furiously while still giggling like an idiot. Wolf looked at John and winked at him. It made a flushed grin appear on Reaper's face as he was torn between laughing and trying to shush Mark's giggling noise. At least Wolf managed to get a bit of a lighter mood back into the company. That is until he turned around instantly and brought a hand up to cover Mark's mouth. Mark looked at him wide eyed and wolf held a finger to his lips. Mark nodded and turned around slowly to see what Wolf was staring at. 

There was something moving in the distance. It was a shadow, but clearly the size of something as big as a human. It didn't look human however. Even though the outline was only visible.

"Holy shit" Mark whispered.

"Shh." Wolf touched his com to switch it on. "Goat..." he said quietly. "I think there's something coming up on you."

A splash startled all three of them and when they turned back to where the creature was, it had disappeared.

"shit"

Wolf quickly forced his way through the sewers to Goat's position. Mark could hardly keep up and even Reaper wondered how with all that water, Wolf was able to move so fast. 

" _My light is down_ "

Goat replied over the com.

"No. no. no. no. Goat, do not attempt to make contact. Just stay where you are. I'm coming. I repeat do not attempt contact."

Wolf yelled into the coms while he moved. Gun fire and screaming were the sounds that followed and for a second, Wolf stopped.

"Fuck!"

He pushed his way forward again and within no time he reached Goat's position.

"MAN DOWN. I repeat Man Down! Goat's been hit!"

Wolf shouted into the com. Goat was bleeding from his neck. A bad sign for what was happening in this place. There was a pulsing organ attached to his neck. Wolf grabbed it and ripped it off.

"Kid! Put pressure on it. NOW."

Mark immediately did as he was told and Wolf grabbed his rifle. He cocked it and aimed at what for Reaper just looked like a wall. But he fired once and there was a screech. Fired twice and there was a hiss, fired a third time and there was an angry roar as the wounded beast tried to escape. Wolf was right it looked like a fucking zombie. Only then worse. It looked like something straight from hell. Wolf followed it's movements with his rifle and expertly delivered a final shot right in the head.

"what the fuck was that?!" 

Mark shouted. Wolf lowered his rifle. 

"Hell."


	7. Evacuation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Ellie torture Wolf about his crush. But to Wolf, things are not that simple.

* * *

Sarge finally decided to put emergency evacuations in place. All Personnel was to be transported to the Earth side of the ark immediately. The men dragged Goat into the infirmary as fast as they could. All the men were now spooked except for Wolf. As soon as he entered, Ellie was with them.

"What happened?"

"Willits got him. Where's Carmack?"

"Gone. Another one came banging and when we turned our heads for a second he was gone."

"What? You gotta be fucking kidding me."

"At least one of them got out safe."

"That leaves five! Six with the big one. Why didn't you tie him down?!"

"With what?! I thought you got the big one."

"No When i went to go take care of it, Willits attacked me."

"Fuck!"

Their bicker was broken up by Samantha who caught onto the Doctor's name. 

"Dr. Willits? Where is he?"

"Not now. Goat first."

Wolf made his way towards the operating table Goat was placed on. Ripping off his vest quickly. Putting a line in his veins to get him the proper fluids. A roar on the outside of the room made everyone look up. 

"Fucking- NOT NOW YOU PIECE OF SHIT"

Wolf roared. Immediately it grew quiet on the other side of the door. Like it feared Wolf's livid reaction. Nearly everyone in the room except for Ellie stared at Wolf either in shock or with suspicion. Or maybe both. Wolf ignored it and kept working on Goat.

"Jesus H. Christ"

He muttered. The heart monitor suddenly dropped. Goat flat lined. The men were for a moment nearly too shocked to respond. But they quickly assisted Reaper who took over in trying to get Goat back again. Wolf grabbed a shot of adrenaline and stabbed it into Goat's chest, but to no avail. Whatever they tried, it took no affect. After a few minutes of several attempts, Wolf turned off the monitor.

John stood there defeated, one of their close team mates laid there lifeless on the table. Wolf looked at the wound on Goat's neck and shook his head, leaning on the table as defeated as the rest of the team looked. Specter came up to him. 

"Wolf... I'm sorry."

Wolf clenched his fists but then willed himself to calm down again. Throwing a fit wasn't going to help. Especially here, and especially since he could lose control. And in front of these guys that was not a good idea. Sarge would blow holes into him right away if he saw. As for the rest, Wolf didn't want to risk it. There was one thing he could have done if he had the chance to do it unseen. But with everyone in the same room, he couldn't do it. He couldn't try. The risk was too much. He had to wait.

"Ellie we have to get them out of here."

She nodded but then Sarge threw a fit.

"Doctor. You're gonna tell me just what the FUCK is going on up here!"

Samantha looked confused.

"What?"

"Come here. Come here!" Sarge barked and showed her the body bag with the creature Wolf shot earlier after it attacked Goat. 

"This is 'what'." 

He pulled the body bag open and Samantha jolted in shock.

"oh! God..."

"Have you found anything like this on your archaeological digs?" He questioned.

"No"

"Is there any way this thing came from the outside? From the Surface?"

Samantha shook her head. "The planet is completely dead."

"It came from somewhere Lady" Portman hissed at her.

"Portman. Shut up." Sarge bit at him. Samantha looked from Portman to Sarge and back.

"The atmosphere on the surface can't support life."

Portman was not convinced.

"Maybe it doesn't need air. It could have come from another planet or something."

"what? like an Alien?"

"LOOK AT THAT THING!"

"PORTMAN. YOU NEED TO SHUT THE FUCK UP." Sarge bellowed. Clearly at the end of his patience. 

"That's not what we saw." Reaper interrupted the fight between the three.

"That's not what Goat and i shot at in Genetics."

Ellie looked at Wolf who looked at her and slowly shook his head. She kept quiet on his request. Knowing he didn't want her to speak up for a reason. Whatever he would reply with, it was not going to be the truth. She knew him better then that. If it could be avoided, he would figure this mess out one way or another. But he would do anything to avoid exposing himself or her to his team mates, or even what really happened on Olduvai before the collapse of the dig site. Mostly because he knew what the damage was going to be once he told the truth. 

"Are you telling me there are more of these fucking things?" Portman nearly whined like a baby. And Wolf didn't blame him. 

"Were are your surface entry points?"

"there's a pressure door at the end of the north corridor"

"Destroyer, Portman, Kid. Get there on the double. Give me an update. Whatever this thing is, it can not get back through the ark! Mac!"

" _Sir_ "

"I want you to arm Pinky with a weapon, with some ST grenades and seal the Ark door."

"There's one other door." Wolf looked up at Samantha. She nodded.

"Where?"

"The entrance to the archaeological dig"

"Wolf. If you're holding out on me. you better tell me now."

Sarge hissed, walking up to Wolf until their faces almost touched.

"It didn't come from the surface. That much i know. But the dig has a history of nasty surprises. Count this as one of them. It's a result of the Dig. Has to be. Maybe it's the same Virus that my team encountered eight years ago."

"You've seen it before?"

"Once. It can cause hallucinations, exhaustion, paranoia. We've all been exposed. So if we can keep our fucking heads in place. We should be able to figure this mess out. But only if we leave. We can't stay here, this gets worse the more we're exposed to it."

Sarge grumbled.

"You stay the fuck here."

He bit back. Reaper walked over to him. 

"Hallucinations, Paranoia and a virus? Do you really believe that shit?"

Wolf looked at Reaper and shook his head. 

"No. But have you seen Sarge? And have you seen what i let him walk around with? One blast of that BFG gun he has in his hand and you're missing an entire wall of this room. Maybe more. I don't need him to get trigger happy with all of us around. On top of that i had hoped that a virus might be something that would actually make him leave. But i don't think he believes me. I know what this is but if i tell him he'll think i'm bat-shit crazy. And i wouldn't blame him. Be careful out there John. Watch yourself. And watch him. Goat's situation affects us all. Leaders more then most."

Wolf smiled softly but with worry in his eyes at Reaper. John send the same smile back. 

"You be careful in here with that thing okay? If you don't trust it. Shoot it. And... Wolf i have to ask. If this isn't a Virus.. What is it?"

"The scientists. They are sick. It's a mutation and somehow they were all exposed. But... try to keep that to yourself for now. Okay? Just be careful, and if you see them and they look like that thing on the floor, shoot twice. One in the head, one in the heart."

John nodded. Aiden watched him walking away with the rest but not before he called his best friend back one more time.

"John." He said before Reaper was out the door. He turned around. Waiting for what Aiden wanted to say, but Wolf shook his head.

"Just... Don't let it catch you by the neck. Mind it's tongue."

John nodded and turned on his heel to walk away, Leaving Wolf with Specter, Sam and Duke in the med bay. 

* * *

 

"So... Ellie says you're an Orphan."

Dr. Grimm was working on an autopsy on the thing they dragged back in after it attacked Goat. Wolf shortly glared at Specter who pretended to know nothing about this bit of information flying around.

"I see you and Ellie had a heart to heart while you were here."

Wolf mentioned.

"She also said you're a stubborn piece of work."

"Really now? Did she also tell you she's a mama goose type sniffing into my business while she shouldn't?"

Wolf played right back with a smirk. Sam chuckled and shook her head.

"Excuse me."

Wolf mumbled and walked over when Ellie waved at him from behind the glass of a different section of the med bay. They stood in front of Goat's bagged body when they spoke.

"Are you going to tell them?"

Specter crossed her arms.

"I don't know. We don't have a lot of choice. If they don't understand what they are dealing with, we're looking at a repetitive motion of the past. You know what happened at the Scales. I don't want the same thing to happen here, just because i couldn't stop it. But telling them the truth will endanger them also. It's like picking between two evils and i have to figure out which is the lesser one. Either way someone is going to get hurt. Truth or no truth. But the truth might just make it worse."

"What happened at the Scales was not your fault Wolf."

"Tell that to the people who died."

"You did what you could. You can't be so hard on yourself. We were children ourselves. Despite what they did to us. You can't blame yourself."

"How can i not? You know what i am. You know what all of this cost us. What it's done to us. I can't look in the mirror without thinking back on that every day Ellie. Don't you ever wake up in the middle of the night screaming because you can't stop the images flashing before your eyes? I know i was young, but i was the strongest one among us. I could have done something. Anything. But i made my choice and i have to live with it. And now... They are making me do it again. That's why they called me in. That's why they contacted RRTS. They made a mess, and guess who has to clean it up? Me. Again."

"This isn't because of what you are isn't it? This is because of Reaper. You're concerned about him and what he'll say if you tell them the truth. You're worried about your team because they got involved. But especially about Reaper. Am i right?"

"What?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me. I've seen the way you look at him. He's important to you. And you're afraid that if he finds out what you are that he wants nothing to do with you, or he'll try to kill you."

"Right now i'm more concerned with Sarge. His growing paranoia combined with the BFG is not a good thing. He's already kicking on violence and has a knack for psychotic tendencies..."

"You let him near the BFG?!"

"If i hadn't he would have found another way in. Like with Patricia Tallman's severed arm. Trust me. The guy is bonkers."

"oh lord... But... you are worried about that aren't you?"

"Aren't you? If i'm exposed. So are you. and Sarge would have a right and a mind to put holes in the both of us."

"But i don't stand to lose the person i'm in love with do i?"

"I..."

Wolf paused. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"You're an evil woman."

"You're welcome."

"Okay so if this is going down, we're gonna do this right this time. Get to Weapons research and stock up. Nothing that has turned can be allowed to breathe. Not if we want to avoid another collapse."

Ellie nodded and smiled. Pressing a kiss to Wolf's cheek before she made her way through the Nano wall towards the weapons Lab.

Samantha eyed the interaction while she worked on the creature. When Wolf came back into the room with her he looked around. 

"Where's Duke?"

"Getting me an electric bone saw."

"After or before he tried to flirt you out your pants?"

Samantha chuckled and Wolf smirked. He circled the body Samantha was working on and stared at it in thought.

"So.."

Samantha said to shake him from his thoughts.

"You and Ellie huh?"

"What?"

"How long has that been going on?"

"Years. We grew up together. We're from the same orphanage."

"Does she know?"

Wolf blinked.

"know... what?"

"That you're eyeing my brother like a lost puppy."

"Excuse me?"

Wolf looked confused, but then it hit him what Sam was asking and he started laughing.

"oh... Oh god. you think Ellie and me- no. God no. I could never. She's like a sister to me. We're not blood related but we're the closest thing to siblings you can be with someone like that. We're from the same orphanage and we came to Olduvai together. Besides... I don't swing that way."

"Really?"

"I'm sorry was that too forward?"

"No, not at all... So i wasn't wrong when i saw you eye my brother like that."

"I... God help me. Women and their instincts... No, you weren't wrong."

"So you like him?"

Wolf sighed and ruffled his hair.

"You women are Evil by default. I swear. Ellie plagued me with the same questions."

"You're avoiding the answer though."

Wolf bit his lip and nodded. He tried to find the right words to reply, but Sam's honest look just ran straight through him. He couldn't do anything but tell her the truth.

"Look, Sam... I've been through a lot of shit. When i joined RRTS, i finally felt like i could breathe a little. But it was still tough to settle. I felt like an outsider. John he... He connected with me. He somehow pushed through my defensive shield of solitude and pulled me in to be part of the team. He made me feel... Normal. And he made me partly forget about all the shit that i've seen. I can't deny that did something to me. I owe him more then he realizes and i'm also more grateful then he could ever know. But... He's a man. And i'm a man. And usually in the marines that doesn't go very well. The last thing i want is to lose him."

Sam had stopped her work while she looked at Wolf. A small frown on her face in thought. But then she smiled.

"You should tell him how you feel."

Wolf scoffed and dismissed the idea. 

"I can't."

Sam tilted her head at him.

"How can you be so sure you'll lose him if you tell him? I may not be the ideal twin but despite not having seen my brother for a decade, i can still tell a lot about him just by looking at him. I've also seen the way he looks at you. And i've never seen him look so utterly lost or desperate. You should have seen the way he reacted when he thought you were hurt. You haven't figured out in the last, how many years-"

"-five-"

"-right. Five years, that he is totally into you, while i figured it out in a few minutes. How did you ever become a Marine?"

Wolf chuckled and lowered his head in shame.

"You know... Sometimes i wondered that myself."

Sam smiled but then leaned over the dead monster in curiosity of this Marine.

"But seriously... Why didn't you?"

Wolf looked up. His eyes then shifted to the Morgue part of the Med Lab and then to the Nano wall. 

"It's... more complicated then you think. It's not because of him. Or the thought i may lose him. It's me. I just can't get myself to say it, because there's more to me then you know. If you knew... If he knew... You wouldn't talk to me like this."

"Hey, we all have our luggage."

"Yeah? Does your luggage qualify this thing on the table as normal? Because mine does."

Sam wanted to respond to Wolf's quick wit, but she was stopped by the humming of a power surge. The lights flickered and instinctively, Wolf grabbed his gun. 


	8. power surge

The lights flickered a few times. And just as they though the lights would stay on, they failed and went out. Only the emergency lights that ran on a different grit were still on. Sam looked at Wolf who had a tight grip on his riffle and slowly shuffled to the closed nano wall and put his ear against it. 

"Wolf?"

Sam asked, but he gestured her to be quiet with a finger in front of his lips.

"Shh."

Sam frowned. When the nano wall was solid, you couldn't exactly listen to what was on the other side unless it was loud. When it was closed it looked like a slab of concrete. and it felt like it too. It was unlikely anyone could hear what was going on at the other side of the wall. Wolf seemed tense however so Sam wasn't about to ask him what he was doing. Sam took a closer look when she saw Wolf's fingers move. He was counting. His fingers rhythmically hitting the side of his rifle. Another power surge spooked Sam and she drew a little bit closer to Wolf. As if instinct drove her to the one person she thought she could be safe with.

It was strange, but from the moment she met Wolf, an aura of dominance and authority had radiated from him. It was both intimidating and relieving to experience. It felt like looking at someone with a lot of power and yet looking at the very person who could keep you safe. He had that feel about him, like a true leader. Completely different from the other one. Sarge. He felt more like a threat and sheer dominance and intimidating in the wrong way. Where as Wolf's Aura drew you in closer, Sarge's pushed you into a dark corner to hide. 

Wolf tilted his head and held up his hand to gesture Sam to stay put.

"Stay here. I won't go far."

Sam nodded softly and watched with tension as Aiden opened up the nano wall and slipped through carefully with his rifle at the ready. His footsteps made no sound. None at all. Not what you would expect with heavy combat boots. 

* * *

 

In the meantime, Sarge set up a hunt for whatever was roaming the halls and took out Goat in the sewers. He was borderline obsessive on killing the very thing that took out his soldier. Reaper was fine so far. He too wanted revenge for Goat, but he couldn't forget what Wolf said to him. This wasn't just some monster they were hunting. If it was a scientist turned into something otherworldly then there might be more then just one. He knew they would have to be careful and on the lookout until they were pretty damn sure there weren't any more of them. One woman left with the other personnel to the Earth side of the Ark. But without her there were at least Five more scientists left. One of which was now dead. So there had to be at least four. And with the way they were moving it was gonna get tough to get them all. 

Still, Wolf said they were infected somehow. Which meant it could spread. Maybe through blood, maybe through other means, they had to be taken care of to make sure they couldn't get to Earth. That might be the only thing Reaper agreed on with Sarge. For Portman however, it got too hot under his feet. He suggested calling in back up. As Wolf predicted, Sarge didn't react too well. Reaper saw it too. He kept quiet so far, but he could see the declining sanity of his commander slowly going down hill. 

It was threatening enough to make Portman shoulder his weapon despite his fear of whatever they were hunting. Portman said they didn't know what they were dealing with, and perhaps he was right. Though Wolf informed him, John didn't really know it either. Other then that they were hunting infected scientists. Wolf seemed to have a better idea of what was going on. But so far he wasn't eager to share. It didn't surprise John. But in a way in concerned him. Because Wolf had that restless and tense look about him he didn't normally carry on a mission. Perhaps his knowledge was a burden to him? Reaper could only guess. He hadn't been to Olduvai in a long time. Perhaps Wolf had seen more then John had imagined going on up here. 

* * *

 

"Ellie?"

Wolf called out softly, checking the darkened hallways for a sign of life.

"Duke?"

There wasn't any response. Sam who waited behind the nano wall suddenly felt very threatened and a bit scared the further Wolf walked away from her. The power going out made this place even creepier then it already was in it's banged up state. She quickly stepped through the nano wall herself and closed it, scooting in close behind Wolf. He noticed but he didn't protest. He just looked back at her to see if she was alright and she gave him a faint smile. Wolf slowly made his way through the hall with Sam behind him until he got to the two-way junction at the end. Suddenly Duke appeared out of nowhere and Sam screamed. Wolf sighed and lowered his rifle. Startled but not shocked unlike Sam.

"You scared the shit out of me Duke! A little warning next time?"

Wolf grumbled while he lowered his gun. Duke just showed a shit eating grin while he held up the power bone saw.

"Got what the doctor ordered. Hey Wolf, you're not scared of the dark are you? It's just a power shortage."

"Fuck you. Power was fine before, they might have damaged the fuse box. You take Sam back, i'll go have a look."

Duke grinned while he shook his head, but before he and Sam could move away from Wolf, there was a growl in the hall. Deep and ferocious. And Wolf recognized it instantly. It wasn't a scientist thank god. But one of the dogs used in the labs. However an aggressive dog was equally dangerous. If not more so. 

Duke pointed his gun at the animal once he located it, Sam inched against the wall, tense and aware of the danger. Wolf stepped in front of her.

"Duke. Back off and get Sam to the lab."

"But-"

"Now Duke!"

Duke lowered his gun but it made the dog snarl. Wolf widened his stance, making him look more intimidating. The Dog's attention was directed to him that way. 

"Go slow"

Wolf warned them. Sam and Duke slowly retreated while Wolf stared the dog down. As soon as he was sure that Duke and Sam were nearly at the Nano wall, he lowered his gun. He looked back but for a moment, knowing the dog wouldn't move in it's fear. He turned his head back to the dog, missing the fact that Sam turned her head back to him to see if he was alright. Wolf took another step forward and lowered his head a little, staring the dog down from under his eye lashes, his eyes glowed shortly, a white flashing color appeared in them for a moment. The dog stopped snarling and whined frightened. Taking a few steps back with it's tail between it's leg. Wolf's eyes returned to normal and he stopped his threatening stance. Getting on his knees to stretch an arm out to the dog. It wagged it's tail softly while drawing closer to Wolf in search for safety. Wolf petted the dog and rubbed behind it's ears while he soothed it.

"Good Boy. You're okay. Good boy. What on earth got you so spooked huh?"

Sam frowned, she only saw Wolf's back while he calmed the dog, but she knew enough to know that dogs didn't just calm down like that. Not every guy could stare down a Dog and get this result. In fact she was 99% sure every other man would get bitten. Sam opened up the Nano wall and the dog barked, running through the hall, passed Sam and through the nano wall into the Med Lab. Wolf stood up but he barely set a step in their direction before a monster appeared from the shadows and knocked him over in a way that send him flying across the hall. He landed with his head against the concrete which resonated with a loud crack. Sam didn't know what was responsible for that awful sound, the wall or Wolf's skull. She dearly hoped the first. 

Wolf seemed unconscious for now. Duke saw it and started firing at the monster right away. Up until the point where his gun jammed and he quickly switched to hand pistols to do damage to the thing. 

"Get Wolf to the lab!"

He shouted. On that moment, Ellie rejoined them, heavily packed with arms and ammunition. She saw the situation and grabbed Wolf right away. Effortlessly swinging him over her shoulder like he weighted nothing and carried him through the nano wall back into the Med Lab. Sam looked back in panic.

"Come on!"

she shouted. Duke retreated hastily and yelled at her to close the wall.

"Close it! Close it!"

He barely got through, followed on his heel by the monster that looked a lot like the one on the table. The wall closed and the creature got trapped in the now solid wall. Stuck in a concrete like prison. The last thing it tried was to still damage Duke by shooting it's tongue like a projectile. It missed and the organ slid wiggly over the floor like a worm, landing somewhere against a drawer-stand. Sam looked at it with disgust before she dropped her head to take a breather. 

"See? That is why i don't do Nano Walls"

Duke remarked with a shaky snort. 

"Still doesn't hurt as much as cracking your fucking skull against the wall... Put me down Ellie!"

Wolf grumbled from his place on Ellie's shoulder. She chuckled when he started wiggling to get out of her grip and she put him down on his feet. 

"How long was i out?"

he asked her.

"A minute. Maybe two. It's a new record for you."

Wolf shook his head and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sam stood up and walked over to Wolf right away. 

"This isn't possible. You shouldn't be up. I heard it. I heard the crack of your head slamming against the wall. You should be dead."

Duke got to his feet as well, clearly equally confused about the situation.

"But he's alive."

Wolf glanced at Ellie but she signaled him that it was his choice. However, Wolf fought with himself over the answer he should give. He wasn't ready. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He did. But admitting to anyone you're not exactly human anymore is an awkward thing to begin with. It was harder for himself then for anyone else, because they would probably not believe him the first time either. But every time he had to say it out loud... he couldn't deny it to himself. He couldn't pretend he was human. He couldn't pretend he was still his old self.

"I got lucky."

The dog that had fled into the med bay, quickly ran up to him and licked his hand while it wagged it's tail. And Wolf bend down to pet it. Sam took the opportunity to check his head, but there was nothing wrong with him. Maybe it was luck. But on the outside of the nano wall, the hallway wall had a nasty dent where Wolf hit it with his head. Wolf ignored the confused stares. Though he knew he couldn't hide his condition from Sam. Not much longer anyhow. At some point, the scientist in her would demand to know the truth. At some point she was going to figure it out. Wolf just dearly hoped that when she did, she would have send Duke on another errand. He didn't need to know as well. If it was just Sam, Wolf could live with it. But he would do anything to keep his team from knowing. 

* * *

 

" _Pinky, We're entering the Archaeological dig._ "

Sarge quietly said over the com system while Pinky tracked their movements on the monitors. The kill cams showed parts of the dig site that gave Pinky the shivers. Sarge ordered Mac to guard the exit while he and Reaper would go find the door Wolf mentioned. 

Reaper felt a nasty gut wrenching feeling as soon as he set foot on the dig site. Events of his past came rushing back to him. He heard the echoes of his memories in his head. His palms turned clammy and sweat broke out on his skin, giving a little shine to his temples, and making his shirt stick to his back. It was like his boots were weighted down with led and each step was heavy. He could feel his heart pound in his ears when he found a window looking out over the lab complex and the dig. He opened the blinds and looked outside. It was almost as if he could see his parents again. Falling, being buried alive under tons of debris and rubble. Secretly he wished Wolf was next to him. John could feel the effects of being apart like someone doused him in ice cold water.

Aiden was always warm. The look in his eyes, his voice, his presence, the hand John felt on his shoulder when he was having a hard time. He could use it right now. But Wolf was still in the Med bay with Sam. Because Sarge started to mistrust him. Reaper closed his eyes for a moment. His mind restless and chaotic until he focused on one center point. He called up an image of Wolf in his head. His sparkling eyes, His smile, his light hair. The image calmed him. John imagined the hand on his shoulder and he could almost feel it. It gave him enough control go push down his anxiety. 

"Is this where it happened?"

Reaper opened up his eyes. He didn't have to turn around to know Sarge stood behind him and asked that question. Reaper didn't reply. He wasn't interested in sharing that life story again.

"Did you find the door?"

Sarge said nothing but he walked away. Much to Reaper's relief. He took one more look outside before he closed the blinds. Then Sarge called him and his attention was taken away from the past. Sarge stood over two bodies next to the pressure door.

"Clay... and Thurman"

Sarge read while he checked their coats for the name tags. He shook his head as he stood up.

"Look at them. They didn't stop something from getting in. Something stopped them from getting out. _Mac, stand by. Destroyer, report._ "

" _We reached the North air-lock. It's secure. Console indicates nothing's come in or out in 26 hours._ "

John shook his head.

"Wolf said it was a virus. They might have been hallucinating. If we were exposed too, we might not even be hunting what we think we're hunting."

Sarge eyed Reaper with a glare.

"I don't care what that lying little fuck says. Hallucinations didn't do this kind of damage. Something else did. What did he tell you?"

"Wolf is one of us. Why-"

"He's lying. I know it. And you two are so inseparable he must have told you something."

"I don't-"

"You tell me what he told you Reaper. That's an order."

Reaper sighed. Sarge was not giving him a lot of choice.

"Fine. He said-"

Reaper could not finish his words. A loud growl and a smack of something falling echoed all the way to the door.

"Mac?..."


	9. lies

"Mac"

"Mac?"

"Mac do you copy?"

Reaper and Sarge quietly but quickly made their way back from the door to the entrance to the labs where they came in. Mac was not responding on com. 

"Talk to me. Talk to me, Mac."

Sarge and Reaper turned the last corner but they quickly saw what they already feared. Mac was dead. His head was in a completely different place then his body. Torn off by one of those things they were hunting. 

"Shit... Still think it's a hallucination?"

Sarge bit at Reaper. John wanted to reply but he quickly shook his head and shut his mouth. Arguing with Sarge was not going to improve their situation right now. And if there was something big in here trying to kill them and Mac didn't see it coming... they were in more trouble then they realized. Wolf already warned him. But he specifically said not to let it catch them by the neck. So why did it rip Mac's head clean off? Why didn't it attack and bite him like it did with Goat? Just what were these scientists turning into?

A growl from a different direction drew their attention. Reaper saw it first. It was big and hella ugly and it looked exactly like the thing from the sewers. Except that one was dead. Reaper opened fire and yelled something that could barely be heard above the noise of his gun. Sarge quickly joined and reported to the rest of the team.

"We're in pursuit. Moving fast out of the dig."

The creature escaped most of the gunfire and Reaper saw it fleeing from them.

"It's getting away!"

He yelled and started running after it. He tried to remember what Wolf told him, but one shot in the heart and one in the head was a little difficult when your target seemed to move at what felt like a 100 miles per hour. 

"Pinky what do you see?"

Sarge informed. Finally wanting to know if it was all in their heads, or if it was showing up on the monitors like he suspected.

" _It's big. Very big. Moving fast back towards the lab complex._ "

Pinky confirmed. Which also confirmed they had someone who lied to them. Wolf. This wasn't a virus. And if it was, it was not causing paranoia or hallucinations, but it caused these kind of monsters to roam around. By a stroke of luck, Sarge still hadn't come to the idea of using the BFG. John was alert, but he knew he couldn't do much even if it did occur to their leader. All he could do was stay out of the way and try to kill the thing they were chasing before it killed them.

_Watch your neck, mind it's tongue..._

John remembered what Wolf warned him for. But even if this was once a scientist, the virus did not explain the horrible mutation. They chased it back all the way to the lab complex. But it was so fast that by the time they got there, the creature was out of sight. 

"Damn, it's fast"

Sarge hissed through his teeth. He called everyone who was still available towards the door. 

"All round defense men."

"Did you get it?"

Mark asked while they joined the rest. But Sarge shook his head. No they weren't able to even graze the creature.

"Wolf get your fucking ass over here!"

Sarge bellowed into the com. It was painful even for those who stood next to him. It only showed he was more then pissed.  

"Pinky? Anything comes through that door, use an ST Grenade. It can not get back to earth."

Portman lowered his rifle in shock and the color drained from his face as he spoke.

"No. He pops an ST in there and he's gonna blow the arc!"

Sarge ignored him.

"Reaper, Kid, Pairs. Cover formation. Sweep the corridor. go."

Portman looked at him with disbelief. 

"Destroyer, Portman, stay here. Shut the airlock. Maintain a perimeter."

Portman still hadn't recovered from the news. His vision of this field trip wasn't one of never being able to get back to earth.

"He blows the ark to hell, how are we suppose to get the Fuck home?"

"Portman, Shut the fucking door. And where the hell is Wolf?!"

Destroyer turned to Sarge as Portman finally turned to shut the door under heavy protest.

"Where are you going?"

"To find the lying fuck who Knows what's going on here. And he'd better have an explanation ready."

* * *

 

Samantha was bend over the body on the table, trying to figure out what exactly she was looking at. She was on the other side of the glass with Duke while Ellie, Wolf and the dog were in the Morgue near Goat's body.

"we're cutting it real close here Wolf. I don't know how much longer you can lead them on."

Ellie expressed while petting the dog that trailed closely after Wolf with every pace he took. Wolf sighed and eyed the creature Samantha was working on.

"Sarge knows. I heard it in his voice when he called me over. He knows i lied."

Ellie looked up with worry.

"What are you gonna do?"

Wolf shook his head. "The only thing i can do. Willits is on the table, Dr. Carmack is trapped, i doubt he'll survive. Patricia Talman is dead. Dr. -what's her name- has returned to the Atrium and evacuated with the rest. There's two left, Clay is dead with no possible signs of turning. That leaves one and the big one. Our favorite psychopath. I have to kill them first before they kill us. clean up this mess."

Ellie stood up.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Normally i'd say gear up. But i know a bad situation when i see one. I need you to go through the ark."

"No. I'm staying here with you."

"Ellie, don't argue with me about this. These guys are good soldiers, but they are no match for this thing, nor for me. And Sarge hasn't got them all in a straight line anyway. If this situation blows up in my face like it did with the scales-"

"But it won't!"

"Ellie. I need a last line of defense. If one of the two does get through to earth, i need you to be there packed and loaded, ready with everything you've got, you hear me?"

"So that's it then. Five years of hell without you and now you're leaving me on my own again?"

"It's not what i want."

"Then don't ask this of me."

"Ellie-"

A loud bark and growl interrupted their fight. And as they looked down at the dog between them it whined and it's tail curled up between it's legs. Ears flat against it's head. It backed up till it stood between Wolf's legs. Barking and growling with scared whines between the ferocious sounds. 

"What is it boy?"

Wolf reached down but the dog would not look away from one of the tables. 

"Wolf!"

Ellie shouted and Wolf looked up, taking a step back the minute he saw what was going on. The dog whined and ran out of the Morgue towards Sam and Duke while barking. Ellie backed up several paces, but Wolf stood very still. Goat, the soldier they thought they had lost sat up straight on his bed. Having struggled his way out of his body bag. He looked less a man then he had ever done. Well on his way to become one of those horrid monsters. 

"oh no."

Ellie said softly. Wolf did not look away from Goat. Nor did he move. 

"Ellie, Get me an empty syringe."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Trust me. I have an idea."

"Oh for the love of-"

Ellie backed away until she could turn and dash out of the morgue in search for an empty syringe. Wolf stood there. Very still. His eyes trained on Goat. Who tried to figure out what was going on with him. But as he looked at his deforming skin the realization could be read from his face. 

"Goat?"


	10. turning point

"Goat?"

Wolf tried. The soldier's eyes snapped up and locked onto Wolf with recognition, confusion and anger. He got up from his bed. Struggling to find balance where he had both legs on the ground. It didn't seem like he still had the ability to use his vocal chords. There was a hint of intelligence in his eyes, but all the rest of his movements and behavior was guided by pure instinct. Wolf could sense it. The feral chemicals drifting around Goat told him this could get ugly real fast if he made the wrong decision or even the wrong move. 

"Oh Jesus!"

Wolf heard from the other side of the glass. Sam stood there shaking and staring at Goat while Duke had grabbed for his weapon and aimed it at Goat's head despite the glass between them. The dog barked less but still whined, scared and tense as it kept close to Sam and Duke. Ellie paid no attention to the scene as she frantically searched for an empty syringe, wolf had requested. 

Goat's eyes snapped from Wolf to Sam and Duke, and with it catching his reflection in the glass. Exposed by the lights from the morgue. He tilted his head as the realization dawned on him. He was becoming one of them. One of those... monsters. 

"Goat?"

Wolf tried again. He inched closer. No weapon at the ready, just a hand stretched out to try and reach the man in front of him. Ellie found the syringe they had used on Goat earlier to give him adrenaline. Now that it was empty, she knew Wolf could use it. She grabbed it and hurried back to the morgue only to be stopped short by Wolf.

"Ellie stop. If you come closer i don't know what that will do to him. He's conscious."

She eyed Goat wearily and then tossed Wolf the syringe from a distance. Wolf caught it and turned it in his fingers for a moment.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Ellie told him. Wolf looked up at Goat who seemed to stare at him with a hundred questions on his face, but also a sense of recognition. 

"So do i."

Wolf replied. Then he took the syringe and tapped his left arm. Sliding the needle in slow at the proper angle, he pulled at the end and slowly the tube filled itself with red liquid. Ellie bit her lip gazing at it. She started to understand a bit of what Wolf was trying to do, but she wasn't sure if it would work. Slowly she backed away a bit further to give them space. On the other side of the window, Sam and Duke still looked at the scene with horror, while the dog had stopped barking and softly whined while it hid near Sam's legs. 

Wolf pulled the needle out when the syringe was full. There was no spill, no puncture wound, no evidence that Wolf had stabbed himself with a needle to get the blood. Goat eyed him and then the syringe, and then him again. Sniffing the air slightly as if he were an animal trying to pick up a scent. Wolf inched a bit closer again. That very moment, Goat raised his arm and made a cross in front of him, From his head to his chest and from shoulder to shoulder. He turned to the glass and he rammed his head into it full force.

"No!"

Wolf immediately charged at him and wrapped both his arms around Goat to keep him from doing it again. Goat struggled, trying to bash his head against the glass again. Growling with effort and protest. Wolf was stronger and able to hold him back, but the blood and grime still on Goat's skin made him slippery and his wiggling efforts threatened to make him slip out of Wolf's hold.

"Dammit Goat! Stop! That will kill you!"

Wolf pulled him back but Goat renewed his effort and struggled to reach the window. He nearly rammed his head on it again before Wolf pulled him away at the last second. Struggling to keep a hold on him, which was all the more difficult because of the syringe Wolf still had in one hand. 

"Goat Stop! I can help you! Stop it!"

Wolf raised Goat a little to get his feet off the floor, but it made Goat kick and land a foot against the window where his crash attempts had smeared blood. The shift in weight knocked them both out of balance and Wolf was tossed to the floor, dragging Goat with him. Within seconds, Wolf rolled them over and pinned Goat to the ground with his own weight.

"Sorry about this."

Wolf said as he took the syringe and rammed it into Goat's heart. The soldier trashed in pain and protest and tried to wiggle his way out from underneath the other man while Wolf emptied the syringe with his blood into Goat's heart.

"For fuck sake Goat. STAY THE FUCK STILL."

Wolf roared. His eyes flashed white and Goat immediately froze at the roar. His chest still heaving quickly from the struggle. Wolf's eyes returned to normal within seconds, but Goat had caught the change. 

Ellie who had been on edge since the struggle started, didn't see it, but she knew what Wolf was capable of. She knew what just happened, and quickly she turned her attention to Sam and Duke to see if they had seen anything. But it was too early to tell. Both stood there staring dumbstruck at the scene before them, while the dog had grown completely silent at Wolf's roar.

Wolf still had a tight grip on Goat who slowly seemed to calm down. His skin evened out and the cuts and scars slowly seemed to mend. The new ones and the old ones. His face which was contorted at first, smoothed out and evened back to it's original form. Goat was still breathing heavily and staring up at Wolf in shock. Wolf gently pulled out the syringe and disregarded it by throwing it on the table that previously held Goat's body. He rubbed Goat's chest softly as if to massage the wound, and then patted it with friendly intent. 

"Better now?"

Wolf asked with a small smile. Goat still could not form words. But he nodded. Wolf nodded back but let a serious expression roll over his face. 

"Now you listen to me Goat and listen carefully... I need you to remember this -at all times-; you, are a good man."

wolf's eyes flashed white again and something changed in Goat's eyes when hearing those words.

"i... Am... A good... Man.."

He repeated softly. Rediscovering his own voice. Wolf nodded at him. 

"You are. Now i need you to do something for me Goat. I need you, to stick with her." 

Wolf pointed at Specter. Ellie recognized what Wolf was trying to do. And though she disagreed, she nodded in acceptance. It was his decision after all. Wolf moved off of Goat and pulled him up. The man looked at him in wonder and then bowed his head. Wolf patted him on the shoulder.

"it's good to have you back."

Wolf said. Finally all the tension disappeared from the room and Ellie stepped closer. 

"What do you want me to do?"

Wolf turned and the dog came running up to him. He scratched it behind an ear before he whispered something, making the dog bark and then carefully paddle up to Goat to soak up his scent and make friends with him. 

"Goat and the dog need to go to earth. I get it if you don't want to follow yet. But at least make sure they get through safe for me. Okay?" 

Ellie nodded. 

"Okay. What about the rest?"

Wolf sighed. 

"I'll handle them. But i need back up in case one of the turncoats gets through the ark. Ellie, the people on the other side are defenseless. I need you and Goat to set up there as good as you can. If i don't make it back before the lockdown lifts, you send an ST through the ark and blow this side. Got it?"

She stared at him in disbelief. 

"You're asking me to cut you off?"

"I'm asking you to keep those people safe. It's a last resort-"

"Bullshit!"

"Ellie, Don't argue with me. Just do it."

"This isn't the scales Wolf. You don't have to do this alone. And you don't have to make that call."

He looked up at her with a pain in his eyes she recognized all too well.

"Don't i?"

He shook his head. Reminding himself what transpired in the past. If that was the only way to stop this whole mess again... Ellie stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're not alone this time wolf. You don't have to carry the world on your shoulders. That time is over. Look at the things you can do now. You saved Goat. I promise you i will blow the ark myself if this goes south, You don't have to make that decision ever again. But i believe in you."

"If i had any control at all i wouldn't even have to save Goat. He'd still be himself."

"Hey. Don't go down that road. You can't save everyone. You know that. But You're not out of a fever pitched sick state this time. You got this."

Wolf knew that Ellie was right. He was in top condition this time. That didn't mean however that this was going to be any easier. The last time he only had to face 1 monster and he just came out of a weakened state of sickness. Despite being in full health now, he had at least three if not four monsters still running around the facility. Tracking them down and killing them would be difficult. He turned to Ellie and hugged her.

"Careful, sis. Don't let anyone see you leave. Especially not Sarge."

Wolf turned to Goat who had watched the conversation still slightly dazed and confused. None the less he looked more like himself now and was in a sane state of mind again. Apart from his now yellow eyes he didn't look any different. Wolf put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"There are people at the other side of the ark Goat. Women, Children, scientists. Protect them. I'm not coming with you, but you can rely on Ellie. She is now your team. Got it? Trust Ellie. And keep this guy with you for both your safety."

Wolf petted the dog one more time before it yipped and lapped at his hand. Then Ellie started moving and Goat followed her, closely guarded by the dog. Wolf walked out of the morgue and back into the med bay where Duke and Samantha were still gaping with wide eyes and open mouths and Duke with his gun at the ready.

"What just happened?"

Samantha asked shocked.

Wolf sighed and pointed to the carcass she was performing an autopsy on.

"That. Is Willits. The one in the door is Dr. Carmack. This is exactly what happens if scientists start doing 'human studies'."

Duke lowered his gun.

"What the fuck happened with Goat? What did you do?"

Wolf frowned looking for the right words.

"It's difficult to explain."

Duke snorted. 

"Try me."

Wolf arched a brow but with Samantha looking at him for an explanation as well he decided it was time to reveal a few company secrets.

"Goat was infected by Willits in the sewers. With his tongue he injected Goat with a serum that effects the human body so severely that it changes. To stop it i injected goat with my own blood which worked like a vaccine. It stopped the change and killed most of the serum. Reverting him back to normal. Well... Mostly normal."

"Your blood? I don't understand."

Duke said while squinting his eyes, but Samantha caught the hint.

"You are immune to it's effects..."

Wolf shook his head.

"I wouldn't say that. It's a long story, but to make it short, my blood holds the antidote now. Like say, a poison to stop another poison, they cancel each other out."

"But you said 'mostly'.. what does that mean?"

"It means that there is a permanent change. Goat can't turn into one of those freaks anymore, but he'll never be normal. He'll be more like me. Except his blood can't do what mine does."

Duke shook his head. 

"This makes no sense what so ever. So this is what? An outbreak? Are we all gonna turn into those creepy fuckers?"

"Not if you're sane of mind."

Duke wanted to retaliate with some smart comment but before he could do so Wolf picked up his gun and turned to the side door of the med bay.

"Look, Just make sure that none of those things come here and catch you by the neck. Look after Sam. I'm gonna go track down the bodies of the scientists to see how many of them turned starting in Genetics."

"And then what?"

Duke questioned.

"then, i'll kick the shit out of them."

Wolf walked through the door. Somewhere he also hoped that Pinky hadn't gotten a peek at everything that just happened. If he did that would be a tough one to explain. 

* * *

 Portman felt uncomfortable with the position he was put in. He and Destroyer were put there to maintain a perimeter to make sure that whatever the hell this thing was could not get to the ark. Bullshit. They should call in reinforcements. This was way above their pay grade and Portman didn't feel like getting mauled by a beast who threw Wolf around like a rag doll and tore into Goat like a pack of butter. This was crazy. Batshit crazy. 

Destroyer didn't complain. Always the silent brute force. Loyal dog. Dumbass. Portman could think of a hundred different nicknames to give a guy like that. Each one more insulting then the last. He had to make an excuse so Destroyer would let him go off on his own. He could call in the fucking cavalry on his own. No way he was just going to sit here without back up and with a risk of never being able to go back to earth. After a bit of wiggling and complaining on his spot, Portman thought of the perfect excuse.

"I gotta take a dump"

Destroyer was inches away from rolling his eyes and his disbelief dripped from his voice.

"What? Now?"

Portman grinned. Gotcha. 

"Unless you want me to shit my pants right here?"

Perfect. Destroyer would fall for it, Portman would go to the toilet stalls and call in for back up and they would all be grateful to him in the end. Destroyer didn't even say a word. He just rolled his eyes for real this time and shook his head. Sighing with an irritated grunt. Portman walked off without hesitation. Tension in his shoulders settling in his stomach as well with the thought of what he was going to do. Defying a direct order. But fuck.. They needed the damn backup.

Portman locked himself into a stall, pointing his cams to the wall and floor and shutting off his com so no one would catch a hint of what he was doing. And with that, he started recording a message for requesting back up.

* * *

 

While Reaper and Kid scanned the place further, Sarge went looking for the one person who actually had answers. But by the time he got to the Med Bay, Wolf wasn't there. Sarge's fingers twitched around the BFG. Oh he wanted an excuse to use it. And if Wolf kept evading him like that, it might just be the excuse he needed.

"Where the fuck is Wolf?! And Specter?! And who's fucking blood is on that window?"

Sarge barked. 

"It's Goat's."

Samantha answered. That irked the leader even more. What the fuck was going on up here?! What the hell did Wolf know?!

"What do you mean Goat's? Goat was already dead!"

"No not dead. Just-"

Duke stopped Samantha by redirecting Sarge to his main problem before he'd start taking it out on them and not Wolf. He had seen this type of mood before. And as loyal as he was, he'd rather not face Sarge in his anger. Wolf always seemed to stand a better chance against him. And those two fought more then they should. Sarge always felt threatened by Wolf. And right now that was to Duke's advantage.

"You just missed him. Wolf went to Genetics."

Sarge was about to snap at him until a lot of noise and fighting grunts cut through the coms before it displayed static and cut off entirely. Sarge turned on his heel and left the med bay to search for Destroyer, who sounded like the one who was in trouble.

Sarge growled over the com in an eerie dangerous voice.

" _Wolf, You better be at the fucking med bay when i get back or i will blow a FUCKING hole in you with the BFG._ "

* * *

 

While Portman sat in the toilet stall recording a message for back up, Destroyer was left to fend for himself. Out of the shadows across the hall he saw something move towards the holding cell passed Genetics. Weary he slowly approached. His hands tight around his turret. Sweat was beading on his dark skin. Nerves unsettled and his senses on high alert. Why the hell did Portman have to take a shit now of all times? Destroyer slowly got closer until from the shadows Wolf jumped out in front of him.

"Shit!"

Destroyer renewed his grip on his gun.

"I almost shot you."

Wolf turned his head.

"You should have. From here on out, shoot anything that moves."

Destroyer frowned.

"Sarge is looking for you"

"Let him look. I'm telling you Destroyer. Shoot anything that moves. Where's portman?"

"Taking a shit."

Wolf grunted.

"Typical. Watch your six."

Then he continued. Running off again. His feet barely made a sound on the metal grating of the floor. It was disturbing. Destroyer turned back to the holding cell only to be smacked against a wall and then thrown into the pit. His cries made Wolf turn back instantly. Who was down there with him in a moment. A huge fucking beast had made itself known and dropped in with them. Wolf quickly pulled Destroyer to his feet.

"Get up. Get up!"

Then he looked at the creature.

"Curtis Stahl i take it? Convicted murderer, psychopath and everything. They just had to pick you."

Destroyer wasn't about to ask what Wolf's mindless rambling was about. Not when they were facing down a monster and Destroyer just lost his turret. 

"What the fuck is that?!"

"Something that kills or is killed. Don't hold back."

Wolf tossed Destroyer a rifle just before the monster took a swoop at him and landed Wolf against the wall of the cell. Tearing him up with electricity and it's claws. Wolf gritted his teeth and kicked as hard as he could, sending the beast flying backwards. Electricity thrumming through his veins. His eyes seemed to glow eerie in the darkness. Destroyer's kill cam was however broken and his personal surveillance camera laid on the floor facing an empty wall. There was no way anyone was going to see it. Wolf had lost his surveillance cam ages ago when Willits attacked him just before they entered the sewers when it fell somewhere. His kill cam was broken and so the only view Pinky had was a wall. 

"SHOOT IT!"

Wolf yelled while he attacked and pushed the monster against the wall. Running electricity through them both. Destroyer took a couple of shots but he was afraid of hitting Wolf.

"Get out of the way!"

"No! JUST Shoot it!"

"I'll HIT YOU!"

"NO SHIT. DO IT"

Wolf lost a grip on the mucus covered monster and the creature swatted at him. Sending him flying backwards once again. It went straight for destroyer this time. Just before he could hit Wolf tackled the giant beast and slammed a heavy monitor on it's head. Glass and metal flew to different sides. Destroyer fired a few shots again but still feared hitting Wolf. He had no idea that Wolf was not in harms way. Again Wolf's grip slipped, just as Destroyer found a pipe to slam the monster with. The creature was faster. It knocked the pipe out of Destroyer's hands so hard it embedded itself in the far wall of the cell. Wolf gripped at the monster's ankles and yanked it away. Taking a glass shard from the monitor and started repeatedly stabbing the creature while the glass cut his hand and made blood run down his wrist.

Destroyer took the rifle again and wanted to fire another shot but the creature growled and deflected wolf's hand with such force that he ended up stabbing himself in the chest with the glass shard. Wolf roared in anger and winched as he pulled the shard out. It distracted him and the monster threw him off. It approached Destroyer and raised a claw to attack, but Wolf was on top of him instantly and started pulling at it's head. The creature trashed and hissed and swatted. Destroyer couldn't move out of the way in time and was swatted to the side. Straight on the pipe that was embedded in the wall earlier. It impaled him and gasping he took a final breath while the electricity ran through his dying veins.

"NO!"

Wolf yelled. Horrified by the death of his friend. He roared in anger and pulled harder and harder.

"You SON OF A BITCH!"

With a final grunt of effort, he yanked the beast's head off and send it rolling on the floor. Panting, Wolf let the lifeless body drop from his grip and ran over to Destroyer. 

"No. no. no. Not like this... It wasn't suppose to be like this.. I'm so so sorry."

Wolf bit back his tears. He knew it wasn't over. There were at least two more monsters roaming around. And as long as they were alive they were all in danger. From the top he spotted a shadow quickly moving and sounds coming from down the hall.

"Portman's dead. Where the fuck is Destroyer?!"

Wolf shuddered. Portman? Dead? When? Did they attack at the same time now? Then the Shadow shot across the hall. It was another one. Bloodied and partly scorched. So that meant two things: one, it was the one who killed Portman. Two, Sarge used the BFG and now knew what it was capable of. Shit.

Wolf took one more pained look at the body of Destroyer and then Jumped to the chains, climbing out of the pit in high pursuit of the monster that killed Portman.


	11. Truth be told

While Reaper was paired with The Kid and slowly scoped the place out. Scanning inch by inch for the very thing that had killed both Goat and Mac, his head was occupied with another thought all together. They were all under serious threat. And neither Mac nor Goat had seen their demise coming. It made him worry that Wolf could be among the casualties if they didn't hunt these things down quick and killed it. The thought alone made shivers crawl up Reaper's spine in the most unpleasant way. Wolf seemed to have a better idea at what was going on, but that didn't mean that he was on the safe side of it. He might even be a primary target because of various things. It didn't sit right with Reaper at all. 

On top of that Wolf already had an encounter with one of these things. The one he shot in the sewers had tossed him around before like a toy. Anger boiled in Reaper's blood thinking about how badly that could have panned out for Wolf. He could have cracked his skull on the wall and then what? He'd be-... No. no no no no. Reaper couldn't even think of that. To think about one of them dying while Reaper never told him what Wolf truly means to him... It irked him. Fuck... Why was there never a proper timing for these kind of things? Why did only death push him to say things he held back out of fear for the response. Such obstacles were of his own creation and now he was plagued by them.

_Please wolf... Be alright._

It was a silent prayer more then anything. Of course he also worried for Sam. His sister, no matter how estranged she was from him, did not deserve to be butchered by whatever the fuck was roaming around up here. He naturally also worried for his team mates. But they were hardcore marines. They wouldn't go down without a fight. They would not go down easy. But as Goat and Mac proved again, they could go down eventually. Noise filled the halls and Sarge called in over the coms. Reaper and Kid followed the noise only to witness as one of the infernal beasts had him by an ankle and swung him around into things like a living baseball bat. Portman screamed and trashed until he grew still and their gunfire made him drop out of the creature's hold. It was too late for him though. Sarge roared and fired a shot from the largest weapon he carried. The BFG he picked up here on Olduvai.

With one blast, the entire stall was destroyed and a big chunk of the wall and ceiling were missing. The gaping hole expanding slowly with the heat melting concrete and other substances next to the blast radius. Mark went to check on Portman, but he was gone. Another one ripped away. Worry for Wolf's life grew. John knew he had to do something. But what could he possibly do?

* * *

Portman's final moments were defying a particular order that now made less sense then ever. He successfully recorded a message and send it, but as a result, one of the monsters found him first. And to say his death was quick and painless would be a lie. In the end, the debate on what killed him could go on forever. Whether it were his injuries from the beating he took, or the scorch marks created when Sarge finally fired the BFG for the first time. Both could be accountable for one thing: Portman wasn't getting back up. 

Reaper and Kid were drawn to the noise of Portman's demise, as was Sarge. All missing the fight Wolf and Destroyer had destroyer had been participating in. With a most unfortunate outcome for Destroyer. Reaper grew more and more worried. In his mind, Wolf was as much at risk as any of them. And Sarge was getting more pissed by the minute. Whatever Wolf knew, John hoped and prayed to god Sarge wouldn't kill him for it. Whatever was going on would have to be explained sooner rather then later. They now lost four brothers in arms. four too many. Goat, Mac, Portman and then they stumbled on Destroyer's impaled body. This was all just too much gore and violence for a fucking virus.

Sarge gritted his teeth when he pulled Destroyer's body on his shoulders and carried him to the med bay while Reaper pulled Portman on his and followed Sarge's lead. By the time they got there, Samantha was working on the creature trapped in the nano wall and Duke rushed towards Sarge and took Destroyer's body from him. Devastated over the loss of his friend. Sarge looked around but Wolf was no where in sight.

"I didn't have time to ask earlier. But i want some fucking answers. Starting with: What the fuck is that?!"

Sarge barked jabbing a finger at Dr. Carmack's transformed body.

Samantha took a breath and gestured to it as well.

"Look at the left ear."

Sarge squinted. Having no time for games he reluctantly did as she asked. Only to discover the left ear had been ripped off.

"Son of a bitch"

He mumbled. Samantha then pointed to the creature and then to the dead one on the table.

"That's Dr. Carmack and this could be Dr. Willits. I'll have to run the dna against his medical records again to be sure but-"

Sarge would have none of it. He had reached his limit. In fact, he passed it. 

"What are you people working on up here?!"

"We're analyzing bones, Artifacts... We're not doing anything like this!"

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

"She DOESN'T know!"

Everyone in the room turned to see Wolf standing there, gore and blood spatters on his clothing, dropping a head that looked similar to the dead monsters. Reaper feared the worst and like he could predict in his mind, Sarge marched up to Wolf, grabbed him by the collar, slammed him up against a wall and jammed a gun against his chin. 

"You better start talking NOW or i will pull the trigger. i lost FOUR soldiers. You're gonna tell me what the HELL is going on up here."

Reaper grew hot and cold watching Sarge threaten the only Marine he had come to care for more then the others. Everything in him was screaming to reach for his gun and defy everything he stood for by coming to Wolf's defense. It was incredibly hard not to give in to the urge and it made him twitch. He didn't dare say anything or move or even breathe in fear that anything would set Sarge off and he would watch Wolf die right in front of him. Wolf held up his hands in surrender and calmly replied like he was not aware of the terror and turmoil raging through Reaper right now. 

"Okay. Let me go. And i'll tell you everything."

Sarge let him go but still pointed a gun at his head. And Reaper really wished he didn't. Sarge was not an easy man to piss off. But once you did he was also a man who did not think twice about using violence. 

"Talk."

Wolf nodded and pulled a flash drive from his vest. Slowly, to keep Sarge from blowing a hole in his head. Wolf was already grateful the BFG was not pointed at him right now. One bullet might be easier to explain missing it's mark then a bubble blast from a ray gun. And on such a close range, no one -not even the lousiest shots- would've missed.

"In case you don't believe me. This will back up my story. All of this started over 20 years ago. In a facility much like this one, but further underground. Here on Olduvai, partially under the dig site was a cavern system called The Scales. The Grimm's were not the first archaeologists up here. They were the first here conducting research that was allowed to be made public. But before them, the government had send in their own scientists to uncover the secrets of this place."

Sarge pushed the gun closer.

"Cut to the chase."

Wolf shook his head.

"I can't. You need to hear this to understand what is going on."

Reaper kept his eyes on Sarge who seemed awfully tense but allowed Wolf to continue.

"They discovered these people that lived here had bio-engineered a 24th chromosome to make their race better. They wanted to recreate that process so they started testing. They took children, plucked from different orphanages, making sure they were the types no one would miss. Because Children are still growing and thus more susceptible to change. The project killed more then half of them. The other half took. But when the 24th chromosome settled in the subjects, changes occurred. Some of them grew into super humans. Stronger, faster, smarter, better at everything. The others however... They became what you see here. Monsters."

Wolf gestures at the monsters in the room. Reaper shivers at the thought that mere children were subjected to torture and horror. And that some of them even turned into possible smaller versions of these ugly fuckers.

"However some of those monsters grew too strong. In the end, they had to start over and bury all evidence that the Scales and the unethical practice of torturing children ever existed. They cleared the entire facility. I suspect they couldn't let it go and thus they resumed testing again now. But with the wrong kind of subject. Curtis Stahl was a convicted murderer. Crazy as Crazy come. They tested on him and voila. They made more monsters. Monsters that now roam the halls and kill all those people they can't turn into monsters as well. This is all the work of a 24th chromosome. If it doesn't make you stronger, it will turn you into that."

"How do you know?"

Mark The kid asked him. Wolf looked at him and then back at Sarge. He seemed to hesitate but then he replied:

"Ark division gave me access to the secrets of this place. We had to be prepared for anything. And with anything i mean, anything."

Sarge seemed satisfied with the answer, but Reaper looked into Wolf's eyes and he saw pain. That wasn't all. That wasn't the entire story. It did give them a scope on what was going on in this place. But Wolf knew more then he was saying. Suddenly his com perked up loud enough for all to hear with a familiar voice.

" _Wolf? It's Ellie. That motherfucker Pinky went through the arc and left it unguarded. I stayed to check but... I fear one may have gotten through. I'm going through now._ "

Well. Fuck.

Wolf slowly moved a hand to his com and replied.

"Affirmative Specter. We're coming your way. Coming in hot." 

* * *

Ellie had the greatest trouble trying to sneak Goat and the dog passed the marines that were stationed near the exit to the ark. A logical position, but a dangerous one at that. Especially Goat was at risk now that people like Sarge rather started shooting and ask questions later then be reasonable about the approach. The attacks on Destroyer and Portman gave her an opening. But when she got to the ark door, something had cut through the door and the room behind it was empty. No Pinky and thus no guard. There was no telling now what would await them on the other side. But Goat insisted on going. Wolf gave him a mission. Protect the children. So he picked up the dog in his arms and threw them both into the molecules of the ark transporting them back. Ellie knew she couldn't leave any surprises so she called it in. But Wolf's reply disturbed her.

He replied formal. Which was an indicator that something was very wrong. And the words 'Coming in hot' were even worse. This was no longer a search and rescue. Nor a quarantine. This would be a massacre if they didn't do something. She knew Wolf. And she knew him well enough that if he talked formal like that, Especially on a mission, Every word was a code. And this code spelled trouble.

She didn't wait. She took her gear and jumped through without hesitation. Finding her footing on the Earth side of the ark along with a room full of carnage, No dog and No Goat. They had probably run off to find survivors. If there were any, now was the time to hide them and secure a room.

* * *

 

"We aren't going anywhere until we made sure those other dead scientists, are really dead."

Sarge hissed. Wolf glared at him and kicked the head he dropped when he came in.

"Already checked. Both Severed and taken care of. The last one is now on earth."

Sarge squinted.

"You sure about that?"

Wolf arched a brow but Sarge moved his gun without blinking and shot Dr. Carmack's form in the head. The body now hung lifeless stuck in the nano wall. Wolf didn't blink when the shot went off. Didn't flinch, didn't cower. But an awareness raised in his eyes which he trained on Sarge.

"Now, the last remaining is on earth. Probably raising ranks as we speak. This is no longer search and rescue. This is containment. Nothing can get back to the elevator on Earth's side. If it moves, kill it."

Wolf squinted and offered protest.

"Not all of them will be infected. Not all of them can even turn."

Sarge put his gun in Wolf's direction again.

"I don't give a shit who's team you were send here for. You were put in RRTS and you will obey the fucking order."

He angrily jabbed Wolf in the chest to provoke him and John instinctively grabbed hold of his gun tighter as the fight unfolded. He wasn't sure what to do. But he couldn't let this escalate. Unfortunately, it seemed too late for that.

"FUCK you! You don't have a fucking clue!"

"I'm your commander!"

"I outrank you!"

Sarge's finger squeezed on the trigger. Reaper nearly yelled and moved to stop him. But Wolf grabbed Sarge's wrist with lightening speed, deflected the path of the bullet by pointing the gun to the ceiling and jammed a fist into Sarge's face so hard he stumbled backwards and his nose started running with blood. Reaper froze as he thought he saw Wolf's eyes turn white as he growled and turned the gun on Sarge. But he swore it must have been his imagination. He was tired, filled with adrenaline and fear of how their usual bickering really started to become full on physical fights. There was no way he saw that right. 

"MOTHERFUCKER BROKE MY NOSE!"

Sarge roared. Wolf stood there with a gun pointing at Sarge's face. Wolf was Livid and shaking with half a snarl on his face.

"You have no goddamn right to be pulling rank on me Sarge. No right at all. Dr. Grimm?"

Samantha looked up shocked.

"Did you collect all the data you were send for?"

She hesitated but then she shook her head.

"No i have three more to download."

Wolf gritted his teeth.

"Terminate the servers."

Sarge glared menacingly at Wolf but he was weary of the gun pointing at his face. Wolf never killed without reason or cause and was always the first to question their target, but once he passed a verdict and it pleaded guilty, there was no saving the target. 

"That's UAC property."

Sarge hissed through his teeth. Occupying himself with his broken nose. 

"Tough."

 Reaper stepped closer. He wasn't one to question Wolf's actions. But this quickly escalated. They hardly had a team left. It was a miracle the rest of them were still alive. 

"Aiden. You made your point. But think about this. Think about what you're doing."

John's voice made Wolf waver. If only for a split second, but then he renewed his stance and flat out refused.

"You don't know what's at stake John. I can't let them do this to anyone else. It ends here."

Reaper stepped closer, putting a hand softly on the wrist that was holding up the gun.

"I've seen enough to know what's at stake. But look at our team. We don't have many left. Do you really want to take away another?"

Wolf made the mistake of looking away to John and lowering the gun. Tears sprung in his eyes as he looked at the marine he loved. Wolf shook his head.

"You don't know what it's like... Being one of them-"

A swat cut him off as the gun flew through the air and Sarge charged him, ramming with a shoulder into his chest. Wolf resisted but lost his footing and was pressed against the wall. They struggled in a physical fight when a loud bang went off and everyone froze. No one dared to move. No one dared to guess who had been shot. Blood was dripping on the floor between Sarge and Wolf and it was hard to tell whether that was coming from his nose or something else entirely. Wolf slammed him on the nose again and ran off.

Sarge screamed in agony. And while he gripped his nose, He sprinted into the hallway with his gun at the ready, but already Wolf was out of sight. Wolf moved faster then those things had moved and within no time, he was at the ark. He looked back once worried for the position he put himself in, worried for leaving Reaper with that lunatic. But as long as the attention was on him and on the monster, Sarge wouldn't think about hurting his remaining team... Hopefully. Wolf shot a quick prayer he was right and jumped through the arc but not before programming a reboot after one use. That would give him time to set up on the other side and determine the level of trouble he was in. 


End file.
